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CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

IN THE DEVELOPMENT 

OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 

IN THE 

UNITED STATES 



BY 



HOLLAND MACLAREN STEWART 



A thesis submitted to the Department of 
Education of the Graduate College in the 
State University of Iowa, in partial ful- 
fillment of the Requirements for the degree 
of Doctor of Philosophy. 



Iowa City, 1914 






^'^^.^ 



CHESNUTT PRINTING CO. 
IOWA CITY, IOWA 



PREFATORY STATEMENT. 

The extension and enrichment of our educational institutions 
have demanded a more thoughtful consideration of the business and 
administrative features of school systems. A full appreciation of 
the necessity of preventing waste and promoting efficiency in school 
systems has inspired in recent years a series of studies on problems 
of school finance. Before any evaluation of means and methods 
could be attempted, preliminary studies had to be made in order to 
present a reasonably satisfactory background. 

It is the purpose of this study to illustrate the growth and de- 
velopment of education sufficiently to show how the agencies of 
educational progress have co-operated to accomplish certain pur- 
poses for which they thought education stood. It is not undertaken 
to present a chronological history of education in the United States ; 
nor has it been the purpose to emphasize the importance of facts 
themselves. Rather, it is intended that the study should show the 
progressive change in methods of educational support, which ac- 
companies the wholesome expression of spontaneous initiative. 

The study has fallen into five general sections in such a way that 
the spirit of progressive change promoted by co-operative endeavor 
in supporting education might furnish the central correlating and 
coordinating problem of the investigation. It was thought essential 
to examine this problem in the various aspects suggested by the 
epochs of national educational progress : a study of methods among 
the colonists ; the attitude and efforts of the United States Govern- 
ment ; the principles underlying state systems and their effect upon 
this change ; a statistical study to show the scope, groAvth, and analy- 
sis of funds in the various typical educational institutions of the 
country ; and finally, some tendencies in the modern period, indica- 
tive of a co-operation in educational support of a still higher order. 

This study has resulted therefore from an attempt to discover 
the sources of educational support and their relations to one an- 
other. This purpose has involved an attitude of interpretation 
though not in the sense of a final evaluation. An attempt has been 
made to understand the critical situations which the multiplicity of 
methods oftentimes presented, but no attempt has been made to 
formulate a comprehensive plan for financing educational agencies. 
The problem of evaluating the methods of these co-operating 



agencies with special investigators for whom, it is the hope this 
study may have some significance. 

This investigation took form and direction first under the leader- 
ship of Professor Frederick E. Bolton, now director of the School 
of Education, at the State University of Washington, to whom are 
due the appreciation and thanks of the writer for his inspiration 
and guidance. The materials used were made available by a host 
of obliging school officers throughout the country whose co-operation 
has made the study possible. For corrections and criticisms in the 
manuscript forms, the writer is obligated to many others. 

EOLLAND MaCLAREN StEWART 

The State University of Iowa 

Iowa City, October, 1914. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I 

Educational Support in the Colonies Page 

Introduction 3 

IMethods of support 5 

Grants of land 5 

Appropriations and endowments ...... 9 

By the colonies 9 

By the towns 14 

By individuals 17 

Lottery 21 

Taxation and tuition 22 

In private schools 25 

CHAPTER II 
The Federal Government and Educational Support 

Introduction 31 

Support by land grants 33 

For common schools 33 

For seminaries and universities 36 

For colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts ... 37 

For private enterprises 39 

Support by appropriation 41 

Government attitude 41 

Distribution of surplus revenue 42 

Grants on sales of land 43 

For colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts ... 46 

For experiment stations . .48 

For other Government educational interests ... 51 

Alaska . 51 

Howard University ........ 52 

Hampton Institute . 53 

Smithsonian Institution .53 

Bureau of Education 55 



CHAPTER III 

Early School Support Among the States 

Introduction 59 

Permanent school funds 63 

Purposes 63 

Sources 63 

Growth 64 

Function and distribution 67 

Illustrations of present status ...... 71 

Taxation 75 

Purposes 76 

Methods and means 82 

The rate system 82 

Participation in income of permanent funds . . 85 

Appropriations 87 

Local Taxes 89 

Summary 93 

CHAPTER IV 
A Statistical Study for Specific Periods in the Growth and Anlysis 
of Income Funds 

Introduction 97 

Common school support funds 98 

Table showing growth and analysis 98 

Public and private high schools and academies ... 99 

A comparison of schools 99 

Chart 101 

Table, opposite . . 102 

Public school support in type cities 104 

List of cities 105 

Charts 106,107,109 

Public and private normal schools Ill 

A comparison of schools Ill 

Chart 112 

Table, opposite 112 

Universities, colleges, and technoligical schools . . . 114 

Relation of funds 115 

Chart 116 

Table 



Colleges of agriculture and meelianic arts .... 118 

Chart 119 

Table 120 

Other schools 120 

Some supplementary factors 122 

CHAPTER V 
Some Recent Tendencies In Educational Support 

Introduction 127 

Extension of high school funds , 132 

General 132 

Special 134 

Normal training 134 

Manual arts 135 

Tables 136, 137 

Special high schools 137 

Agriculture and domestic science .... 137, 138 

Evening 139 

Grovv'th of support funds . . . . . . 139 

Table 139 

History 140 

City normals and their support 141 

Introduction 141 

Support funds 143 

County training schools 144 

Fellowship funds 144 

Introduction 144 

Purpose 145 

Types of fellowships . ' 148 

Teaching 148 

University 149 

Industrial 149 

Honorary 150 

Special 150 

Sources of support 151 

Growth of the funds 152 

Tables 152 

Summary 153 



CHAPTER VI 
Concluding Statement 

Summary suggestions 159 

References 163 



INDEX TO CHARTS AND TABLES 

Charts 

Page 
Comparison of public and private liigli schools as to partici- 
pation in support funds 101 

Total receipts in type cities 106, 107, 109 

Comparison of public and private normal schools as to par- 112 

ticipation in support funds 112 

Income of universities, colleges, and technological schools , 116 
Income of colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts . . 118 

Tables 

Grants for education on sales of land 44 

Appropriations to colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts 

under the "Morrill" acts 46 

Government support of experiment stations .... 49 
Growth and analysis of common school support funds . . 98 
Comparison, and analysis of income funds for public and 

private secondary schools, opposite 

Type cities and their population, for three census years . 105 
Comparison and analysis of income funds for public and 

private normal schools, opposite 

Income funds of universities, colleges and technological schools 
Income funds for colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts . 118 
Receipts for support of manual arts in the country . . 136 
Receipts for the support of manual arts in certain states . 137 
Receipts for the support of evening schools .... 139 
Fellowship funds in typical universities 152 



EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT 
IN THE COLONIES 



''But the indigence of the greater number disabling them from 
educating, at their own expense, those of their children whom 
nature hath fitly formed and disposed to become useful instruments 
of the public, it is better that such should be sought for and educated 
at the common expense of all, than that the happiness of all should 
be confided to the weak or wicked." — Thomas Jefferson, Extract 
from Section I of A Bill for the general diffusion of knowledge, the 
Colony of Virginia, 1779. 



INTRODUCTION 

Education in the United States is unique. The expression of 
colonial life, made in the direction of school maintenance and sup- 
port, springs from a spontaneous impulse, — an impulse fed by the 
notions of freedom and individuality. This peculiar expression of 
individuality characterizes all early progress in the aff ail's of the 
colonies. The colonists were Christians of an ardent type. They 
sought perfection of character through the understanding and 
practice of Christian doctrines. They were looking for the opportu- 
nity of service to God and to their fellowmen. This was the two- 
fold motivating force of the early colonial policy which made the 
colonies enthusiastic for education. To accomplish their purpose, 
a close dependence upon co-operation was fundamental, and their 
growth and development are largely in terms of such co-operation. 
The school was recognized as the most potent auxiliary in the 
prosecution of those ideals. Learning was sacred to them and there- 
fore it was a religious obligation to provide for the education of 
their youth. Since the family assumed the responsibility of making 
of their children good citizens, believers in God and willing ser- 
vants of the commonwealth^ education was a matter of domestic 
concern. 

The methods of supporting education in the colonies were simple 
and direct, because the principles underlying their education held 
a fundamental relation to the one thing, the salvation of the soul, 
whether demonstrated in a well grounded faith in God, or in the 
social activity of self-government. Each man recognized himself 
as his brother's keeper and assumed the responsibility of educating 
the children of others as well as his own. 

The differentiation of educational procedure in this country came 
about through the specialization of church functions. In this 
chapter, an attempt will be made to present some situations out of 
which the various types of methods of school support have arisen. 
The attempts of the colonies to realize their ideals demanded a 
gradual perfection of means and methods, — and of course, a grow- 
ing appreciation of the necessity and value of division of labor in 



4 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

prosecuting those ideals. More and more dependence was to be 
placed upon the school and church, since parents and guardians 
were coming to have less and less time for the education of the 
children under their care. 

The life of the colonies was characterized by a spirit of co-opera- 
tion, and this same spirit was carried into the work of establishing 
schools. The welfare of the colony demanded the ''encourage- 
ment" of teachers. This was done through the spontaneity of in- 
dividuals, or groups of individuals, who were prompted to the ser- 
vice by closely allied and effective motives. None of the methods were 
essentially new, rather, they were recapitulatory of the struggles 
of their mother countries. This spontaneity of expression and the 
peculiar nascency of the elements of their ideals, constitute the 
uniqueness of American education. Though the colonies practi- 
cally without exception encouraged schools from the earliest time, 
yet it required the co-operative efforts of the colonies in this enter- 
prise to keep learning from being buried in the graves of their 
forefathers.* 

Since the dominating idea of colonial education was benevolence, 
the Government took the position of creating schools, leaving to 
private or church endeavor the task of supporting them.t After 
all, however, the Government supported the schools, since the in- 
dividuals who made up the Government were at the same time mem- 
bers of congregations. It is with the differentiations of colonial 
life that the dangers of such loose organizations appear. The Gov- 
ernment served to promote education through the organization of 
the church and private enterprises first, and later, of necessity, as- 
sumed direct responsibility. She purposed rather to be protector, 
guide, and only incidently assistant. This has remained a charac- 
teristic of the National Government in educational matters. In 
this "chance medley" of voluntary endeavor every kind of school 
found a place and each expressed a wholesome fiuiction, though 
all needed correlation and co-ordination. This need gave rise to 
systems which were later reconstructed. 



^See Mass. Colonial Eecords, 1647, Vol. II, p. 203. 

tBlackmar : Federal and State Aid To Higher Education in the United States. 
U. S. Bureau of Education., Cire. of Inf., 1890, p. 21. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 



METHODS OF SUPPORT 

Grant of Lands 

Among the methods employed in securing school establishmeiit 
and maintenance, the grant of land has always had an important 
place; however, grants of this kind must be supported by other 
gifts usually before the returns from land can be secured and made 
effective. The granting of land for the support of schools was not 
a new notion, with the colonists. It has always beeii the most ac- 
cessible means of encouraging education. The famous monasteries 
that for so long a time influenced European countries sprang from 
grants of land and the fruits of its cultivation. Fulda, the parent 
of many monasteries, began on the banks of the Fulda Avith a grant 
of a site and four miles of surrounding demesne obtained from 
Carloman.* Fritislar and Utrecht had already been established in 
a similar manner through the benevolence of St. Boniface. In the 
same spirit grants of land were made by the colonies or by com- 
panies representing mother countries, by towns or sub-colonies, by 
associations representing organized church or philanthropic effort, 
and by individuals. 

When Philemon Purmont Avas asked by the General Court of 
Massachusetts, April 13, 1635, to become schoolmaster, certain 
islands at ''Muddy River" in the Boston Harbor were set aside for 
the purpose of school support, t In 1641, after the school had been 
in operation for almost five years, Deer Island, one of these, Avas 
set apart by the toAvn for a free school, the income of Avliieh, in 16^4, 
was seven pounds. By 1647 the rental had increased to fourteen 
pounds. Tavo years later, five hundred acres of land at Braintree 
belonging to the tOAvn AA'ere leased for an annual rental of forty 
shillings. During the same year. Long and Spectacle Island were 
set aside for school purposes. J 

The policy of the General Court to grant land for the "encourage- 



^ 



"Drane, Christian Schools and. Scholars, Eeprint of the Second Edition, p. 
105; see also Fulda in Encyclopaedia Brittanica. 
tEducation: 1:499. 
1:BroAvn, The Making of Our Middle Schools, p. 36. 



6 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

ment" of learning became general throughout the Colony. The 
Court in session on November 12, 1659, granted two hundred acres 
to each of two school masters as an expression of appreciation of 
their services, and one thousand acres to each of the towns of Dor- 
chester, Charleston, and Cambridge for grammar schools. Dor- 
chester had formerly received the rent of Thompson's Island for 
the schoolmaster. Thirteen years later a grant of six hundred 
acres was made to each county town. In 1651 Ipswich received a 
grant of land for a grammar school which was very much needed, 
since previous attempts to maintain a school had not succeeded.* 
From this time it flourished, partly because of increased support; 
largely perhaps because Ezekiel Cheever was the schoolmaster. 

In Connecticut, the grants of land played a less important part in 
the maintenance of schools, however even here it was an important 
'element in school support. The General Court in 1672 granted 
six hundred acres of land to each of four county towns for the bene- 
fit of schools, t and in, 1733 certain lands in Litchfield county were 
set aside for the support of schools. Connecticut believed in grant- 
ing land for school purposes but took the attitude that it was the 
business of towns and families to provide for the expenses. This 
accords with the notion presented above that the colonies purposed 
to guide rather than support. The stringent orders of the Court 
in 1642, 1650, 1655, and other years, support this position, t 

' ' In 1619 Sir Edwin Sandys, president of the Virginia Com- 
pany in Old England, moved the grant of ten thousand acres of land 
for the establishment of a university at Henrico. ' '§ The grant which 
included one thousand acres of land for an Indian college was 
made. The other nine thousand was to be used for the training of 
the English. Old England sent tenants and equipment for the 
occupancy of the university lands, but all efforts were discontin- 
ued at the time of the trouble with the Indians in 1622.11 About 
the only use made of appropriated lands was that of one thousand 
acres for the preparatory school at Charles City. In 1624, an is- 



*Small, Walter H. in the School Eeview, Vol. 10 : p. 517. 
tU. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1893, No. 2, p. 27. 
JIbid, pp. 17, 30, 31. 
§Ibid, 1887, No. 1, p. 11. 
Illbid. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 7 

land in the Susquehanna, secluded from the free view of ravaging 
Indians, was granted for the founding of a university, but this 
came to naught like the project of 1619 in Henrico. The Colonial 
Assembly undertook the project of founding educational institu- 
tions for the purpose of fitting youth for "ye university" as early 
as 1660, by voting that "there be land taken upon purchases for 
a college and free schools* and that other provisions be made; 
however, not until 1619, when, conditions were more promising for 
a college, did Rev. James Blair with others succeed in interesting 
King William and Queen Mary in the education of the children of 
the colony. They granted to the colony for educational purposes 
twenty thousand acres of land for a college besides making certain 
other specific appropriations. These lands were settled up through 
the Collegiate Land Office, which gave lasting influence to matters 
of education, t 

Rhode Island, whose educational and religious history is so fascin- 
ating, made slow growth in her schools. The religious freedom 
granted there was not advantageous to education as it might appear 
from a modern viewpoint. In Massachusetts where the Puritan 
maintained close union of Church and State, the school was the 
handmaiden of religion. A heterogeneous group of settlers mi- 
grated to Rhode Island on account of the freedom of religious 
thought permitted there. In Massachusetts, the State in, a sense 
trained the preachers; in Rhode Island, because of the separation 
of Church and State, the preachers were left without training.* 
Even though Rhode Island was backward in her educational de- 
velopment and in the establishment of a system of education, yet 
as early as 1640 the Colony voted one hundred acres of land for a 
school in Newport, "for the encouragement of the poorer sort, to 
train up their youth in learning". A similar provision was made 
for Providence in 1663, when the assembly of proprietors agreed to 
set aside one hundred acres of upland and other small lands for the 
maintenance of school. § 



"The College of William and Mary, U. S, Bureau of Educ, Circ. of 
Inf., 1887, No. 1, p. 12. 
tibid. 

tV. S. Bureau of Education, Circ. of Inf., 1894, No. 1, p. 23. 
§Ibid,p. 25. 



8 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

Vermont, though presenting no strikingly new features, provided, 
in all charters of towns, for the reservation of a quantity of land 
solely for the support of the schools. Her assistance to the college 
established by act of 1791 was initiated largely, it seems, through 
the generosity of General Ira Allen who granted lands upon, spe- 
cific conditions/"' 

This small list of grants is not inclusive of all colonial efforts 
made for education. Lands were granted to towns for development 
which indirectly found a place in the support of schools. Since 
most of the responsibility for education rested with individuals and 
the towns, the development of schools rests largely with them. Simi- 
lar portions of land were set aside by individuals for the support of 
schools among the colonies. 

As early as 1634 or 1635, Benjamin Syms, by will, left two hun- 
dred acres of land, together with a herd of milch cows, for the 
founding of a free school in Elizabeth County, Virginia, and, in 
1646, or before, Thomas Eaton gave two hundred fifty acres of 
land in the same region, which later was consolidated with the Syms 
endowment and devoted to the Hampton High School. In 1668, 
Henry King gave one hundred acres of land for a free school in 
the Isle of Wight County, Virginia, and, in 1675, Henry Peasley 
gave six hundred acres for a free school in Gloucester County, 
Virginia, t 

In Connecticut, "William Gibbins gave thirty acres of meadow 
and upland for a Latin school in Hartford in 1655 :t and in 1754 
there was recorded the grant of a house and two acres of land by 
Joshua Moor for the school in Lebanon, Connecticut. In New Hamp- 
shire, Sam Sewall, original purchaser of the Pettaquanscott, had 
given 500 acres in what is now Exter to maintain a grammar school 
for children of inhabitants living upon that purchase, although pro- 
visions for carrying out the project were not made until 1766. 



*Extraets from Eev. W. Winterbotham 's View of the United States of 
America. Am. J. Educ. 24, p. 137. 

tBrown, The Making of our Middle Schools, p. 49. 

JLetter to Mr. Barnard. Am. J. Educ, Vol. 22, p. 370 j also, U. S. Bureau 
of Educ, Circ of Inf., 1893, No. 2, p. 27. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 9 

Appropriations and Endowments 
By the colonies : — Schools in the colonies were supported in many 
and varied ways, due to the conditions of life of these early times. 
Their efforts were co-operative in a striking way, — an example of 
which is presented in the action of the Connecticut Colony, as early 
as 1644, when it was voted to assess the families of the colony one 
peck of wheat, or its equivalent in value, for the support of poor 
students in Harvard College.* The sums were necessarily small 
and, when we read of the record of the Massachusetts Assembly 
directed by Sir Henry Vane, Governor of the Colony, concerning 
the grant of four hundred pounds for Harvard College in 1642, we 
are struck with the munificence of the gift.t 

The activity in the Massachusetts jurisdiction toward the sup- 
port of schools commands our admiration, and most of the colonies 
are no less worthy. In Virginia, two thousand pounds were provid- 
ed by Royal Endowment in 1691 from the quit-rents for schools sup- 
port, and in 1693, the House of Burgesses made a permanent levy, 
or tax, upon skins, furs, and so forth, sent out of Virginia. In 1781 
an appropriation of one thousand pounds for the education of in- 
genious scholars who were natives of the Colony was made. These, 
with other provisions by tax, show the attitude of the Virginia Col- 
ony and the Mother Country toward education. To these may be 
added the scholarships founded by the House of Burgesses which 
yielded pecuniary assistance to worthy students at "William and 
Mary.t 

In Connecticut, strenuous attempts were made to promote educa- 
tion. This was done through the orders of the General Court. Fines 
were imposed for not maintaining schools for a minimum period. 
County courts were urged to increase their revenues in order to 
establish schools, on the one hand, and to raise the standard, on the 
other. They provided further for an annual tax of forty shillings 
"for every thousand pounds in their respective county lists, and 
proportionally for lesser sums, toward the maintenance of the 



*U. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1891, No. 6, p. 48 ; Keport of the U. S. 
Com. of Educ, 1892-1893, Vol. II, p. 1243. 
tU. 8. Bureau of Educ, Circ of Inf., 1891, No. 6, p. 22. 
tU. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ of Inf., 1887, No. 1, pp. 15, 16. 



10 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

schoolmaster in the town where the same is levied,"* In 
the Connecticut Code of 1650, a fine of twenty shillings was pro- 
vided for those who neglected the education of their children to the 
extent that the children failed to learn the English tongue and to 
have knowledge of the capital laws.t "The first move toward es- 
tablishing anything higher than the free school in New Haven was 
in 1659, when forty pounds a year was voted for a colony grammar 

school, and eight pounds more for procuring books. - - "t 

About a year later, their appropriation was raised to one hundred 
forty pounds. In 1687 the surplus in the county treasuries was 
divided among the grammar schools. In 1693 the Colony appropri- 
ated twenty pounds each to Fairfield and New London, — Hartford 
and New Haven having already received appropriations of thirty 
pounds each.§ For nine years, houses and lands used for school 
purposes had been free from taxes by colonial act. The close alli- 
ance with the religious societies in the promotion of education is 
illustrated in the order of 1741 to distribute the bonds and moneys 
received from the sale of the town in western Connecticut to the 
several ecclesiastical societies in trust, for the use of their schools. II 

The interest of the Colony is expressed from time to time through 
the action of the Assembly as indicated in the town records. For 
example, a committee is appointed "to take charge of lands given 
for a school at Middletown.", and lands "escheated to the State" 
are given to "Wintonbury for a school; and schoolmasters are ex- 
empted from military service. In 1766 the proceeds collected from 
arrearage taxes on liquors, teas, and so forth, were given to the 
schools, tt 

Though Rhode Island had not committed herself to public-suppor- 
ted education, yet she had encouraged education in many ways. It 
seems, however, from what evidence we have that Rhode Island was 
interested in assisting families in their struggles to educate their 



"Keport of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1892-3, Vol. II, p. 1247, complete copy 
of the act. 

tU. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1893, No. 2, p. 17. 

tibid, p. 28. 

§Ibid, p. 28. 

Illbid, p. 31. 

ttlbid. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 11 

cliildren rather than in providing public schools for them. In other 
words, Rhode Island believed in family responsibility for elementary 
education and assisted such pupils as were eager for advanced edu- 
cation. "In 1696 a tract of land in the town of Kingston was 
conveyed to Harvard College for - - - the support and education 
at the said college of those youths whose parents were not of suffi- 
cient ability to maintain them. ' '* 

During the year 1768, an attempt was made to establish in Provi- 
dence a system of free public schools for which teachers were to be 
supplied, evidently, by some sort of tax or assessment, but the propo- 
sition was defeated. According to a note from Moses Bro\^ai ac- 
companing the report of the committee, the proposition was lost 
by the vote of the poorer people who failed to see their own 
interests, t Seventeen years later, Rhode Island provided for free 
schools out of the town treasury, but the system was opposed by 
wealthy men who maintained that education at public expense was 
unjust, and the act repealed in 1803 in a storm of opposition.? 
Nothing was accomplished by legislation for a system of schools un- 
til 1823, when a bill for a system of public schools passed almost 
unanimously. 

In 1861 William Penn received a magnificent grant of land from 
Charles II out of which was to come the support and encourage- 
ment of public schools. In 1683, the legislature passed an act forc- 
ing parents and guardians to have their children educated. § This 
act which put this government upon advanced grounds in the mat- 
ter of promoting public education accorded with the scheme of Wil- 
liam Penn. It was at this time that New Hampshire and Massachu- 
setts were being separated after twenty-eight years of blending. 
Though the order of the General Court of Massachusetts applied to 
the territory of New Hampshire, yet we cannot help noting that New 
Hampshire did not hold tenaciously to the Puritanic idea of Massa- 
chusetts. By the order of the Court of 1647, New Hampshire pro- 
vided for schoolmasters largely by wa}^ of supplying their needs. 



*TJ. S. Bureau of Educ, Cire. of Inf., 1894, No. 1, p. 20. 
tibid, p. 26. 
JIbid, p. 27. 

§Clews, Elsie W., Educatioual Legislation and Administration ; Colunial 
Governments, p. 278. 



12 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

As early as 1640, the Queen of Sweden gave Henry Hockhaumer 
and company a grant and privilege for the establishment of a new 
colony in New Sweden (Delaware), with provision for a school- 
master and minister, and by 1699 Swen Colsberg was located at 
Christiana as master. This attitude toward education in the new 
colony may be due to the notion of the state education already de- 
veloped in Sweden. Even before the grant of 1640 by Sweden, the 
Dutch, through the West India Company, had done considerable 
for schools. Section twenty-eight of the Charter, 1630-35, says 
that "the Patroons shall also particularly exert themselves to find 
speedy means to maintain the Clergyman and Schoolmaster - - ;" 
and, in 1638, provision was made for tax. Five years before in 
Manhattan, the Dutch provided a school at public expense. The 
West India Company sent over schoolmasters and often paid the 
salary. Dr. Alexander Carolus Curtius being one such schoolmaster 
who received for his services in 1659 as Latin master five hundred 
guilders. * The activity of the Dutch in behalf of education ap- 
peared from time to time in the colonies, even after they had lost 
their possessions, for schools seen to have been general in the vil- 
lages and towns under Dutch control, due to the generosity of the 
Mother Country which sent out such teachers as Evert Pietersen and 
Arent Everson Malenaer, who are reported to have been paid liber- 
ally for their services, t 

Maine presents the same general story of colonial interest in 
education, since prior to 1820 she was a part of Massachusetts. 
Becoming settled at a later time, owing to the condition of the coun- 
try, she did not follow out the orders of the General Court of Massa- 
chusetts. What was done in Maine was done through the initiative 
of towns and villages for the most part; however, in 1789 provi- 
sion was made for school districts through which, by act of 1800, 
taxes might be levied for schoolhouses and other school purposes.* 
In New York, the notion of taxation also gained a place in their 
thought, for by act of 1702 they voted an annual tax of fifty pounds 
for a period of seven years for a grammar schoolmaster in the city 
of New York, though the tax was likely an assessment similar to the 



^•A Dutch silver coin worth about forty cents. 
tU. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1893, No. 3. 
tlhid, 1903, No. 3. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 13 

assessment made for the support of the minister. Thirty years 
later, the proAnncial legislature imposed a license tax upon ped- 
dlers, hawkers, and so forth, this tax to the amount of forty pounds 
to be set aside for a schoolmaster ; and it renewed the tax of 1702 
upon condition that twenty youths be taught gratis. This shows 
that a free school in the modern sense was not yet in operation.* 

In the South Atlantic colonies, we have noted the disposition of 
parents and guardians to send their children to England for their 
education. This delayed colonial movements in behalf of education. 
South Carolina provided for a school at Charleston, supported 
from the public treasury, Avhicli was free to twelve scholars, to 
others at a cost of four pounds per year. Other schools were sub- 
sidized, but on the whole conditions were unfavorable for education. 
The churches made definite and hard struggles for the education 
of the people, the Colony giving assistance where it could, the 
greater part of which being verbal encouragement. In Georgia, 
the progress of education rested with the churches rather than with 
the Colony, t 

One other colony demands our attention, since social and econom- 
ic conditions there give a peculiar development to education. The 
struggles between Catholics and Protestants in Maryland prevent- 
ed most of the constructive work proposed from coming to fruition. 
The message of Governor Nicholson in 1694, sparkling with enthusi- 
asm for schools, was reinforced by his private subscription of 
fifty pounds for a building and twenty-five for maintenance, by 
the further subscription of five thousand pounds of tobacco for 
the building, and two thousand for maintenance by Sir Thomas 
Ijaurence, and by varying amounts contributed by the council. 
The Assembly received tlie message with appreciation and raised 
by subscription forty-five thousand pounds of tobacco. Further, 
the assembly imposed taxes upon liquors, furs, beef, bacon, and so 
forth, for educational purposes, and made appeal to mother coun- 
tries through the royal house and the church for the erection of 
schools. The legislature during the years that followed sought to 
tax whatever industry existed that was at aU a product of com- 



*Brown, The Making of our Middle tates, pp. 93, 94. 
tibid, pp. 96, 97. 



14 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

merce. An act passed in 1717 imposing a tax of twenty shillings 
per poll upon negroes imported, another in 1720 imposing taxes 
upon tobacco, still other acts imposing taxes upon pork and other 
commodities, were passed with the hope of securing funds for a 
school in each county. 

In, 1723 governing bodies were appointed for each county which 
were to provide one hundred acres of land for the schoolmasters' 
use and, in order to secure good masters, were to allow him twenty 
pounds per year in addition to the land provided. * In the propo- 
sal for a college at Annapolis, the expenses of which were estimated 
at eight hundred sixty pounds, the list of items for meeting the sup- 
port comprised moneys from licenses, bachelors, tributes, donations, 
and profits from boys. This scheme was lost in the trouble between 
the upper and loAver houses. This was unfortunate, for Maryland 
needed a college in which to train, schoolmasters, as is evidenced in 
the caution given in the act of 1723. t "The year 1785 saw the 
establishment of St. John's College at Annapolis and its union with 
"Washington College under the name of the University of Maryland. 
A donation of 1750 pounds to the former and 1250 pounds to the 
latter was pledged to be annually and forever thereafter given and 
granted. These sums were derived from the fees on marriage 
licenses (a reversal of the proposal of 1764 to tax bachelors), ordi- 
nary licenses, hawkers' licenses, and fines and forfeitures. "t With 
1798 came the act of state aid by donations to the several academies, 
which is sufficiently suggestive in the light of modern school sup- 
port to warrant mentioning. § 

By the toivns : — A close dependence characterized the towns and 
the colonies, especially during the earliest times. It was most often 
the case that colonial legislation applied to a single town. Even 
in certain colonies, the development of a single town was a difficult 
undertaking. § Thus it happens that the appropriations made by 



*U. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1894, No. 2. 

tMr. Sellers reports that in Talbott County the master of the school, an 
Irishman, evidently having but the crudest education, ran away taking a 
negro man and two geldings with him. A reward of five pounds was mad^ 
for their apprehension. U. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1894, No. 2, p. 33. 

«bid, p. 43, 

§Note conditions in Maryland. Ibid, p. 14. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 15 

a colony, of lands, moneys, or taxes go directly to some specified 
town. The records show that colonial acts provided for specificed 
towns generally. In the establishment of the Boston Latin School 
over which Mr. Purmont was to preside it is difficult to distinguish 
between colonial and town authority. * This is easily explained in 
the light of social and economic conditions on the one hand and re- 
ligious conditions on the other. Deer Island, though granted by 
the Colony for school purposes, was set aside by the toM^n of Boston, 
as were Long and Spectacle islands, and the garden plat for Daniel 
Maud. As income from Deer Island, the town received seven pounds 
annually for three yeai^, then fourteen pounds, which went to the 
support of the school. 

These arrangements for school support in Massachusetts were 
made by the Selectmen for the most part, they being the represen- 
tatives of the people. In Connecticut as early as 1639 there was a 
grammar school in Hartford and, in 1642, the voters of Hartford 
are reported as having appropriated thirty pounds a year to the 
town school, and, six years later, as having ordered a schoolhouse 
built. It is probable that the thirty pounds were to be raised by 
rate as was customary, since we find that in 1843, Hartford agreed 
to support such pupils as could not pay twenty shillings per year 
or six pence per week, t The fifty pounds granted Boston in 1650 
for the support of the schoolmaster was to be secured by rate,$ 
so that the responsibility continued to rest upon parents and guar- 
dians. It was during this same time that the General Court of 
Connecticut ordered vigilance over the brethren and required towns 
to keep a teacher of reading and writing whose support was pro- 
vided for by the parents. In 1652 Mr. Janes was encouraged to 
begin school at New Haven, with the grant of ten pounds from the 
town treasury, the rest of his salary to be taken of the parents of 
the children so that he might have a comfortable maintenance. § 

The attempt on the part of New Haven to found a college illus- 
trates very well the early methods of the town. In 1655 the Gov- 
ernor reported to the General Court that New Haven had raised 



*Education, 1: 499ff. 

tAm. J. Educ, Vol. 28, p. 185. 

tU. S. Bureau of Educ, Cire. of Inf., 1893, No. 2, p. 16. 

§Eeport of U. S. Com. of Educ, 1892-93, Vol. II, p. 1243. 



16 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

tliree hundred pounds and inquired what the other towns would 
do. It is evident that the sum was raised wholly by subscription, 
though the matter was disposed of finally by a grant of sixty pounds 
out of the town treasury,* 

The proposal for the college came to naught at this time, but, in 
1663, a new school was founded at NeAv Haven. The master re- 
ceived twenty pounds out of the to^vn treasury, the rest of his 
salary being met on agreement by the parents, t During the years 
from 1635 to 1670, the schools of Boston had made consistent pro- 
gress in education and were firmly established. On the latter date 
we find Boston supporting two masters and providing definitely 
and well for their support. Mr. Ezekiel Cheever, whose efforts for 
education are universally appreciated, received sixty pounds a year 
for his services out of the town rates and rents, besides the use of 
the schoolhouse. At this time, his assistant was Hezekiah Usher. $ 
It is of course likely that Mr. Cheever here as elsewhere was under 
necessity of collecting rates from parents for himself. The fines 
which were imposed in the colonies of Massachusetts and Connecti- 
cut became an indirect means of promoting schools. 

With the closing of the seventeenth century and the beginning 
of the eightenth, Ave have a livelier interest in education and more 
of a town, spirit in its behalf. New towns had arisen with more or 
less loyalty to educational interests. New London, Connecticut, 
voted to build a schoolhouse out of the allowance of the Bartlet 
estate, parents assisting in meeting any deficiency. Hartford in 
1674 was granting sixty pounds for a master, though she paid 
only thirty at a little earlier time. New Haven in 1728 settled the 
oyster shell field on the school to aid scholars of Congregational 
parentage. 

The tardy development of towns in many of the colonies explains 
the slowness in educational development. Social and economic 
conditions, as pointed out above, made public education a secondary 
matter in these instances however much the colonists themselves 
might have desired public schools. In Maryland, there was a lack 
of homogeneity among the settlers and, further, both gentlemen of 



*U. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1893, No. 2, p. 26. 
tAm. J. Educ, Vol. 27, p. 290. 
tlhid, Vol. 12, p. 538. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 17 

wealth and well-to-do-planters had become accustomed to send their 
children abroad for education. Those of moderate means owing to 
distance and dependence could not provide schools. "The idea 
that the more wealthy should contribute to the education of the 
poor except by voluntary charity did not belong to the eighteenth 
century here or elsewhere ; nor was the duty of such charity to the 
poor based upon any other considerations in general than enabling 
them to read the gospel, rescuing them from vice and immorality, 
and saving their souls. ' '* In 1782 we read of a free school in Kent 
county, Washington College, to the funds of which were added the 
proceeds of lands of the Talbot Free School. Even school funds, 
as in Dorchester county, were devoted to the relief of the poor. 
Though we have a goodly number of records of the activity of 
to"RTis, yet it is clear that the efforts of towns and colonies are large- 
ly the efforts of individuals. These we have yet to consider. 

By individuals : — Before considering the methods of donation and 
gift, we must give consideration to the efforts made by religious 
organizations for the support of schools. Since subscriptions un- 
der the auspices of a religious organization are individual, we need 
only to call attention to some of the methods used by these organiza- 
tions in securing funds. Nearly all of the academies of Rhode 
Island seem to be controlled or influenced by denominations. In 
the early history of Connecticut we read how the new society for the 
Propagation of the Gospel was setting up schools. The early gram- 
mar school in Philadelphia, 1689, was established by the Friends 
under the direction of William Penn. The ideals of college and 
academy w^ere those of public service. The provision of schools 
and the obligation to establish and maintain them rested upon a 
religious purpose. Besides the private subscription, the public 
collection was a common means of supporting schools. In 1733 
and 1763, we have records of such collections in Connecticut and it 
is likely that there were many of these owing to the pressing needs. 
Both of these collections were for Indian education. For the sup- 
port of the minister and the master, provision was made through 
obligatory subscription. Palfreyt in writing concerning Connecticut 
says, ''No church could be founded without permission from the 



*U. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1894, No. 2, p. 43. 
tPalfrey, New England, Vol. IV, p. 231. 



18 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

General Court, and every citizen was obliged to pay in proportion 
to his means toward the support of the minister of the geographical 
parish of his residence." 

Mr. Sollers says* that in Maryland, during the last of the seven- 
teenth century, great efforts were made to secure contribu- 
tions for the free schools, and further that an agent was appointed 
to solicit subscriptions in England among merchantmen and officers. 
Often the appeal to the mother country for aid was made directly 
through the church in America, t 

Benevolent societies were always engaged in providing for the 
education of the poor. In Virginia, the alliance of church and colo- 
ny was so close that the identity of each in educational affairs is not 
always clear. In 1619, the year of the proposed grant of the Vir- 
ginia Company in Old England of ten thousand acres of land, "the 
bishops of England, at the suggestion of the King, raised the sum 
of fifteen hundred pounds for the encouragement of Indian educa- 
tion :"$ and when the Colony took upon itself in 1660 the responsi- 
bility of founding educational institutions, orders were sent to 
the vesti*ymen of all the parishes to raise funds for such purpose. § 
Funds for a college in Rhode Island to the amount of four thousand 
dollars were raised at home and abroad by Rev. Morgan Edwards, 
upon condition that they be put at interest. The Friends' school 
in Portsmouth which closed in. 1788 for lack of funds was revived 
in 1814 by the munificence of wealthy members. Mr. Powell II 
gives a brief account of the efforts of religious sects in prosecuting 
educational plans in his Education in Delaware. 

But with all the organization thus far effected, the voluntary gift 
of the parents, guardians, and friends of the children, and youth 
furnish the main portion of school funds. It will be our purpose to 
present a few cases to shoAV the interest which individuals took in 
education, together with the apparent sacrifice incident to the con- 
tributions. We have already mention.ed how the Selectmen of 
Boston raised money by subscription to prosecute the school work 
there. The spirit of the giving was such as characterized the Puri- 



*U. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1894, No. 2, p. i 

tibid. 

JIbid, 1887, No. 1, p. 11. 

Illbid, p. 12. ttlbid, 1893, No. 3, p. 84 ff. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 19 

tan fathers before them. "When we read of gifts of pieces of cloth, 
plates, or treasured heirlooms, their earnestness for education can 
hardly be overlooked. At Ipswich, where attempts were being made 
in 1657 to establish a school, Robert Payne is said to have purchased 
two acres of land for a school and the following year to have built 
an edifice thereon, at his own cost. Then William Hubbard gave an 
acre next the schoolmaster's house. Teachers were supported in a 
sense by barter. The revenue for the Ipswich school during this 
first period consisted of fourteen pounds from Chebacco, the school 
farm, granted by the town; seven pounds from a little island at 
the mouth of the Chebacco river, granted by William Payne ; and 
twenty-eight pounds from three acres of orchard given, by Robert 
Payne and William Hubbard. In 1648 Robert Paj^ne was one of a 
hundred fifty-five subscribers to a fund for the school. This in- 
dicated the method used at IpsMdch, which was no doubt general. * 
Reference to school farm, orchard, and so forth, suggests the no- 
tion that schools in their origin were industrial. In, most early 
records, appropriations of moneys or grants of land were made for 
the ''encouragement" of learning. School education involved a 
sort of apprenticeship, in many cases it consisted in that alone, 
even in learning to teach school or to serve in a parish. To the de- 
velopment of the school farms and their equipment we have made 
repeated reference. The free school in Newport parish in the Isle 
of Wight County, Virginia, was the recipient of four cows by the 
will of Captain. John Moon, 1655 ; and twenty years before, Benja- 
min Syms, in addition to land, had left by will eight milch cows for 
support of a free school in Elizabeth County, Virginia; in 1675 
Henry Peasley gave ten cows and a mare for Gloucester school. 
These gifts of equipment were supplemented by many others of 
similar kind, so that land, stock, machinery, and even slaves were 
at the disposal of masters or managers. Not only were the youth 
and masters encouraged by this equipment, but as in Virginia, 
scholarships were founded by colonies and private parties for the 
support of worthy students, t 



*Am. J. Educ, Vol. 28, pp. 135, 136. 

tNote the scholarships founded in Virginia. U. S. Bureau of Educ, Cire. 
of Inf., 1887, No. 1, p. 16; also the provision of raising a peek of wheat per 
family in Connecticut for poor students in Harvard. 



20 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

It has been previously hinted that lands and equipment alone are 
not sufficient to insure educational progress. Though ten thousand 
acres of land were granted for the establishment of a college at 
Henrico by the Virginia Company in Old England, yet the only 
fruitage secured at the time was the promotion of a preparatory 
school at Charleston and this was begun in 1621 through the gifts 
of money to the amount of one hundred fifty pounds.* Multi- 
plied examples appear where colonial and legislative acts provide 
for grants, privileges, and immunities but these became, as sugges- 
ted, "encouragement" merely unless reinforced by liberal gifts of 
what is essentially working capital. The interim often appearing 
between the time of legislative acts and their actual operation is 
essential usually to the development of a sentiment of personal 
obligation in private benefaction. The growth and development of 
schools in pioneer lands are essentially of this type. Therefore when 
the wealthy gentlemen of Virginia and their merchant friends in 
England in 1688 and 1689 raised twenty-five hundred pounds to- 
ward higher education, a real beginning was made which resulted 
in the promulgation of a Avholesome sentiment throughout the Colo- 
ny and the Mother Country. This subscription, added to the actual 
available funds, resulted in the founding of William and Mary Col- 
lege, chartered in 1693. The importance of these voluntary gifts 
can hardly be over emphasized in the light of colonial school pro- 
gress. 

In Maryland little if any progress was made until Governor 
Nicholson, 1694, in addition to urging in his message legislation in 
behalf of school support, obligated himself to the amount of fifty 
pounds toward the building of a school and twenty-five toward 
its maintenance. The appreciation of these two kinds of funds was 
as essential then as now. This gift supplemented by other private 
gifts of tobacco and money called out favorable Assembly action 
and further contributions to the amount of forty-five thousand 
pounds of tobacco. These funds again supplemented by further 
contributions throughout the Colony and Europe through the agency 
of religious societies, private initiative, and the imposition of taxes, 
became very fruitful. Like experiences of sacrifice and effort are 



^U. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1887, No. 1, p. 11. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 21 

recorded in other colonies, and with the rise of academies, private 
munificence is illustrated everywhere. 

Lottery. 
The popularity of the lottery in the United States by the middle 
of the eighteenth century, justifies our giving it special mention 
here. The notion came to this country as did most of our ideas. 
The sanction of the lottery by Queen Elizabeth no doubt was a 
partial explanation of its beginning in the United States. In 1612, 
we read of a lottery for the benefit of the Colony of Virginia. By 
the middle of the eighteenth century, schools and even churches 
were built by lotteries. In 1750 a lottery w^as organized to raise 
an edifice at Yale, and in 1772, and again in 1806, Harvard raised 
funds in this manner. This method seemed to be the method most 
easily used to secure results, the French people claiming as an argu- 
ment for its operation there that it keeps money at home that would 
go for gambling in other countries because of the inborn spirit of 
gambling among the people. From 1816 to 1828 the French govern- 
ment is reported * to have derived $2,400,000 of annual income 
from lotteries. With the colonists it seemed more as an expedient 
measure, though the spirit of gambling no doubt made this method 
popular. In 1760 Rhode Island raised $1,200 for a library, in the 
process of which the lottery was a favorite method. The following 
instance is citedt which illustrates the use of the method in this 
colony. In Maryland, the rise of the lottery was wide-spread and 
gained a fair reputation. Literature was encouraged by lotteries 



"See under Lottery in the Americana. 

tScheme of a lottery granted by the general assembly of the colony of 
Rhode Island, &c, for raising of £130 lawful money, to be applied toward fur- 
nishing the parsonage house belonging to the Baptist church in Warren and 
rendering it commodious for the reception of the pupils who are or who shall 
be placed there for a liberal education. It is hoped that tlie extraordinary 
expense of that infant society in building a new meetinghouse and parsonage 
house, as far as the building is advanced, together with the immediate necessity 
of room for the pupils under the care of the Eev. Mr. Manning, and the great 
encouragement for the adventurers, there being but little better than two 
blanks to a prize, will induce those who wish well to the design speedily to 
purchase the tickets. U. S. Bureau of Educ, Cire. of Inf., 1894, No. 1, pp. 
20, 21. 



22 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

of great proportions.* According to Randall t New York passed 
an act in 1801 by which $100,000 was directed to be raised by lot- 
tery, part of which went to the support of academies, but the bulk, 
to common schools. These lotteries, he says, were not discontinued 
until 1821, when all lotteries were prohibited. 

It is somewhat surprising to us that many of the original col- 
leges of America, leading churches of the colonies, and benevolent 
societies, and even the Government, resorted to this means of rais- 
ing money. Columbia, Harvard, and others received funds in this 
way.* 

TAXATION AND TUITION. 

In a discussion of the beginnings of taxation in the colonies an 
insurmountable difficulty presents itself. It is often impossible to 
distinguish between the taxation of wealth and the assessment of 
rate. The latter method of course takes precedence over the for- 
mer chronologically. Since education Avas a matter of domestic 
concern those responsible for the care of children assumed the 
responsibility of their education. 

Voluntary rates provided the funds for many schools and with 
town or colonial regulation the rates were assessed by the town or 
provision was made for their adjustment with the master. § 
Exceptions to the obligation were often made where parents or 
guardians were not able to pay. Definite tuitions were fixed with 
the better administration of schools. In. 1643 Mr. Andrews in 
Hartford was promised sixteen pounds for his 'paynes' in teaching 
the children, of which parents were to pay twenty shillings per 



*U. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1894, No. 2, p. 56. In the 
the same year (1816) an act for the encouragement of literature provides that 
$50,000 a year for five successive years shall be raised by lottery for the 
increase of the school fund. 

tEandall, History of the Common School System of the State of New 
York, quoted in U. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1894, No. 2, p. 56. 

tU. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1894, No. 2, p. 53, and report of 
the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1894-1895, Vol. II, pp. 1506-1509, for further accounts 
of the use of the lottery. 

§Educ., Vol. 1, p. 499. Town provides that grant to masters be raised by 
rate. Am. J. Educ, Vol. XII, p. 533 ff. Note Mr. Cheever's desire to 
get money from the estate of Mr. Trobridge, which he claimed due on rate, 
p. 535. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 23 

year, or under certain conditions six pence per week, provided how- 
ever that those not able to pay be taught gratis.* The Connecticut 
Code of 1650 provided that townships having fifty householders 
must provide a teacher of reading and writing supported by the 
parents ; and in 1657, in order to assist in the setting up of schools, 
presumably where there is less than fifty householders, the town 
was to pay one-third from the treasury and the parents two-thirds 
by tuition fees.t 

In Bristol, Rhode Island, rates and tuition furnished the wages 
of the schoolmaster to the amount of twenty-four pounds per year, 
paid to the master. Additional funds were secured by licenses for 
entertainment and wood money, both kinds of which furnish an 
appreciable portion of school funds at this time. J At Bristol, Mas- 
sachusetts, scholars in 1699 paid four pence per week for Latin; 
at Plymouth, three for Latin; and a few years later, Plymouth 
asked four for Latin of pupils within a mile, beyond two miles, 
nothing. Tuition remained a substantial part of school support 
even after town rates were made, and they have continued in all 
systems of schools to the present, especially in higher institutions 
and for pupils in elementary or secondary public schools, coming 
fro& outside the school units. 

The levy of toMTi rates grew out of the notion of English town 
rates, as far as method was concerned, its necessity resulting from 
the inequalities of ability among parents and guardians in paying 
the tutors or in subscribing to the local fund. In this latter motive 
we find some explanation of the fact that the earliest schools sup- 
ported by tax on wealth were recognized as "charity" schools. 
Essentially, there was truth in the statement in practice. Since the 
tovvTi rate was assessed for the most part in town meetings it is a 
sort of self -assessment. Why the poor people of Providence, Rhode 
Island, as late as 1767, rejected the proposition for free schools is 
hard to understand since all were to have equal school privileges 
and funds were to be raised by the towns. 

It has been shown that the towns assumed the responsibility of 
providing directly for schools as necessity arose. The inequalities 



*Am. J. Educ, Vol. 28, p. 185. 

tU. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1893, No. 2, p. 18. 

$Ibid, 1894, No. 1, p. 21. 



24 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

whicli arose as the result of voluntary initiative could be met only 
by a larger unit of authority. Here the town and colony became 
obligated, and taxation was the most available method, either direct 
or indirect. With few exceptions, schools were not supported by 
tax prior to the eighteenth century. The most notable exceptions 
were the schools of emigrants to New Netherlands where provision 
for schools was made by tax upon householder and inhabitant to 
the amount thought sufficient.* In Virginia and Maryland in 1691, 
a tax of one penny per pound was imposed upon tobacco sent out 
by royal authority; in 1734, a tax on liquor was ordered by the 
House of Burgesses of Virginia ; and, in 1759, a tax Avas imposed 
upon peddlers. At the time of the founding of William and Mary 
College, specific laws were made by Maryland for the support of 
schools, A tax of four pence per gallon on imported liquors was 
used for schools and other objects of public concern. In 1704, to 
assist further the cause of education in the Province, and export 
duty of from nine pence to three farthings per skin was placed upon 
bears, beavers, and such (like) animals, also other additional export 
duties; further, a tax of twenty shillings upon negroes imported; 
and then an export duty of three pence per hogshead in 1720 on 
tobacco, three half pence of this tax to be used for public schools. 
These laws indicate a tendency in the direction of securing support 
funds through the activity of capital or its income. It was a 
definite step toward taxing wealth for the support of schools for 
the poor, provided in, the act of 1813. t 

In New Hampshire, by act of 1693, the Selectmen in their 
respective towns were required to assess inhabitants for building 
and repairing school houses, the support of schoolmaster being pro- 
vided by subscription and tuition. Not until 1789 do we read of 
any legislative attempt to establish the amount of money to be 
raised for school purposes. At this time the statute was made to 
read four pounds for every one pound of the proportion of public 
taxes to the individual town. In 1817, a law was passed by which, 
''The assessment for schools was increased to ninety dollars for 
every dollar of apportionment of public taxes, for the sole purpose 



*U. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1893, No. 3, p. 24. 
tibid, 1894, No. 2, pp. 19ff; also see p. 55 for mention of the first direct tax 
for education in Maryland. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 25 

of supporting English schools within the towns for teaching 'read- 
ing, writing, grammar, arithmetic, geography, and other necessary 
branches of education', and the purchase of 'wood and fuel'."* 
In Connecticut as early as 1700, the inhabitants of the Colony were 
to pay annually forty shillings on every thousand pounds in their 
respective county lists toward the maintenance of schoolmasters, 
this amount to be distributed to the accredited schools, t 

Not until 1789 was there a really tangible unit of school adminis- 
tration in Maine, and not till 1800 was there provision made for 
taxation for school purposes. At this time, school districts were 
permitted to tax themselves for school houses, clerks, and commit- 
tees, the wages of schoolmasters still being provided for after the 
plan of Massachusetts of which she was still a part. With the 
eighteenth century and the organization of a state system the 
evolution of the method by taxation assumes a more important role. 

IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 

What has been written concerning the support of education, pub- 
lic, quasi-public, or semi-public, applies generally to education 
through private initiative. We have continued to emphasize the 
fact that education was a domestic duty. The so-called public 
school and the private school of colonial days were often identical 
in content and method, and frequently in scheme of support. Prior 
to the founding of schools by colonies or towns, the school of the 
private venturer was common. Occasionally we find mention of the 
presence of a venturer in towns where schools have been provided. 
A Mr. Jones seems to have had such a school in Boston, even though 
public education had been pretty well provided for. The magis- 
trates of the town secured his promise to leave at the close of the 
winter term, 1656.$ In Rhode Island, because of the general atti- 
tude toward public education, private venture schools flourished. § 



*Ain. J. Educ, Vol. 28, p. 354. 

tReport of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1892-1893, Vol. 2, p. 1247; U. S. Bureau 
of Educ, Cir. of Inf., 1893, No. 2, p. 30, and above, p. 9. 

tEducation, Vol. 1, pp. 499, 500. 

§From Newport Mercury, April 14, 1766, — Thomas Greene in Barristers' 
row, hereby informs the public that he proposes to open a school the first 



26 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

Newport had a private charity school established by Nathaniel Kay, 
where ten boys were taught grammar and mathematics gratis. The 
conditions among private schools, owing to competition and the 
attitude of the Colony toward public education, finally became the 
object of suspicion, and a committee appointed to investigate and 
to recommend a method of regulating these private schools reported 
in 1785- that the only method of correcting the evils of the private 
schools was the establishment of public schools. In 1795, this was 
done,* however, the provision, for a sj'^stem was withdrawn as noted 
before in 1803. 

In Maryland, as has been seen, the use of private tutors was 
common, some of whom were owned as servants for advance of 
passage money, or other favor, t The academies of Maryland, 
which became the successors of the free schools, were established by 
private contributions. At Hagartown, stock to the amount of 
$6,000 at five dollars per share was raised for the academy. Among 
the academies, Phillips Academy, the first in Massachusetts, is 
typical. Here the four benefactors of promotion were: Samuel 
Philips, with a subscription of $6,000; John Philips, an uncle, 
$31,000; William Phillips, an uncle, $6,000; William Phillips, a 
cousin, $28,000; with $14,000 additional for a seminary; — in all 
$85,000. Such institutions, as this latter typifies, have prepared 
the way for the stream of voluntary offerings to education which 
we shall consider in other connections. 

It is clear that school support in the colonies grew out of the 
needs of the times, and further, that the methods used were the 
most expedient. Grants of land and money were made by the 
colonies, mother countries, counties, towns, organized societies, and 
private individuals, in order that the ideals of their life, to serve 



Monday in May, to teaeh reading, writing, arithmetic, and merchants' ac- 
counts — the Italian method — and as he don't incline to undertake for more 
than twenty (besides a very few small readers), they that favor him scholars 
may depend on their being taught with the greatest alacrity. He has, as 
usual, an assortment of English goods, etc., at a reasonable rate. — U. S. 
Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1894, No. 1, p. 20. See same page for other 
advertisements. 

*Ibid, No. 6, p. 27. 

tibid. No. 1, p. 27. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 27 

God and man best, might be realized. 

The expression of benefaction in appropriations, gifts, donations, 
bequests, characterizes the underlying purpose of true education. 
The scheme of lottery, self-assessment, levy, tuitions and fees, are 
characteristic of the growing complex of organized social life. All 
the methods operated at once as they cumulated from the experi- 
ences of this pioneer life. The essential elements persist in the 
growth of federal and state efforts in behalf of popular education. 



THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

AND 

EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT 



''Religion, Morality and Knowledge, being necessary to good 
government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means 
of education shall forever be encouraged." — Ordinance of 1787. 



INTRODUCTION. 

The Federal Governmeut has never been indifferent to education. 
The failure of the Government to make itself explicit in the con- 
stitution has not operated against the development of education in 
the nation. To say that the Government has no control over the 
system of education operating in the states, is to disregard the 
spirit of the constitution which says, ' ' The United States shall 
guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of gov- 
ernment''.* It is quite true that the Government has exercised no 
direct control over education except in the District of Columbia; 
however, the sympathy and aid realized in the direction of spread- 
ing intelligence, though indirect for the most part, has been none 
the less effective. This attitude of the Government has been demon- 
strated clearly in colonial daj^s, and it remains universally expressed 
in that attitude, since popular governments without popular educa- 
tion "have no right to existence and cannot be maintained when 
established ".t The Government with a purpose born of democracy 
has committed to the states, respectively, the free assumption of the 
responsibility of educating their youth. However, the spirit of 
the constitution permits the Federal Government to exercise not 
only power of preventing ignorance, the most alarming impediment 
to popular government, but the power of directing and constructing 
education. The former power would seek to hold fast the standards 
of the people already obtained; the latter would tend to correlate, 
coordinate, guide, protect, and even support the multiple agencies 
of education. Both of these functions the Government has exer- 
cised ; and with the increasing complexity and differentiation of life 
among the states, the latter function is assuming wider propor- 
tions and greater significance, — and this all without encroaching 
upon the spontaneity of state expression. 

The purpose in this chapter is to review the aid given to education 
for the purpose of discovering how the several methods which 
operated among the colonies found a similar expression in the 
attitude of the Government with the close of the War of Independ- 



*Article III, Section 4. 
tEducation, Vol. I, p. 420. 



32 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

ence and the rise and development of the states. In general we 
shall find that the aid given by the Federal Government has been, 
as in the days of Purmont and Cheever, an "encouragement" for 
education, — or in other words, an inducement for individual and 
state spontaneity and development. The spirit has been that of 
emphasizing the importance of voluntary effort in a democracy. 
In this respect the attitude of the Government has remained 
unchanged, though this fact is not so simple at the present time. 
Thomas Jefferson illustrated rather clearly the idea of the Govern- 
ment that direct control, even in educational affairs, reverts to the 
Government when individuals and states, through their neglect, 
invite ignorance and disruption. At a time when education was 
considered a matter of domestic concern, he asked for a public 
school for Virginia where learning could be had gratis. Though 
Thomas Jefferson himself believed that parents should educate 
their children, yet when indigent parents did not educate 
them he contended that the responsibility reverted to the state.* 
This attitude of protector, guide, and assistant, displayed in that 
period of our history when a national spirit was becoming marked 
with greater virility, was fixed in the acts of 1802 and 1803. t The 
various and numerous acts of Congress relating to Government 
interest in education and to the general development of the states, 
though peculiar to our situation as a nation, have tended to define 
our educational policy and the methods of financial support in a 
manner similar to the growth and development in other nations. 

It is clear therefore that the crystallization of the sentiment pre- 
vailing in the United States in behalf of general education has been 
a gradual process. Hardly a session of Congress has convened in 
which some demand for a congressional act in behalf of education 
has not been made. Rather consistent criticism has attended Con- 
gress for its seemingly ultraconservative policy toward educational 



*"But the indigence of the greater number disabling them from educating 
at their own expense, those of their children whom nature hath fitly formed 
and disposed to become useful instruments of the public, it is better that such 
should be sought for and educated at the common expense of all, than that 
the happiness of all should be confided to the weak or wicked. ' ' — Extract from 
Section 1, of a bill for the more general diffusion of knowledge. Am. J. of 
Educ, Vol. 17, p. 95. 

tE«port of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1880, p. XXX. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 33 

procedure and development ; however, a review of the past history 
of the difficulties encountered in adjusting the variety of demands 
abates our hasty criticism. Progress is slow if continuous and per- 
manent, steady if directed intelligently and effectively. Congress 
could do no better than to follow the zigzag path made by the colo- 
nies and to utilize the suggestions which this experience called out. 
The efforts made in the colonies through grants of land, through 
the benevolence of private endeavor and religious propagation, 
became for the most part the methods of the Government when a 
real national spirit issued as a result of the co-operation in the 
struggle against England for freedom and independence. Federal 
aid therefore began in the granting of land for educational pur- 
poses. 

SUPPORT BY LAND GRANTS. 

Common Schools : — The English land policy influenced our 
national spirit in a peculiar way, with the issue of the war. Doctor 
Samuel Johnson, President of King's College (now Columbia 
University), is reported to have written to Archbishop Seeker, 
April 10, 1762,* in behalf of a policy of granting land for religion 
and schools. Such efforts from private and philanthropic sources 
prepared the way for the policy of the Gevernment. In. 1784 one 
year before the first act of Congress granting land for the common 
schools, Georgia enacted a measure providing for the setting apart 
of twenty thousand acres of land for a collegiate seminary of learn- 
ing, t These activities can be explained largely by the fact that 
the presence of a schoolmaster with "every immigrant ship" had 
brought the notion of popular education to a practical realization. 
Fierce opposition sems to have arisen when the ordinance of 1785 
was proposed and passed. The people of the colonies, though 
needing no further education in the principle that a democracy can 



*''I beg leave, my Lord, to observe that it is a great pity when patents 
are granted, as they often are, for large tracts of land, no provision is made 
for religion and schools. I wish, therefore, instructions were given to our 
governors never to grant patents for townships or villages or large manors 
without requiring the patentees to sequester a competent portion for the sup- 
port of religion and schools." Am. J. of Educ, Vol. 17, p. 65. 

tibid, Vol. 17, pp. 65, 66. 



34 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

exist only through the intelligence of its constituents, still consid- 
ered education a private or state matter. 

The passage of the act of May 20, 1785, its preliminary forms, 
and its subsequent operations are full of interest; first, because 
there was in those movements an evident lack of even a crude policy 
as to the disposition of western lands though Congress was forced 
by the responsibilities impending to manifest a constructive inter- 
est; second, because of a lack of definition in the minds of the mem- 
bers of Congress as to the field of religion, on the one hand, and the 
field of education, on the other, since through the process of social 
differentiation, the distinctness of each was becoming apparent; 
and third, with others of more or less importance, because of the 
lack of a definite policy toward educational support, since there was 
a wide difference of opinion as to the need of support beyond that 
which was secured through voluntary effort. 

The history of the legislation which took the form finally of the 
ordinance known in education as the "Sixteenth Section Grant", 
illustrates the first two lacks. Jefferson, chairman of the commit- 
tee on the disposition of western lands, presented an ordinance to 
Congress in May, 1784, in which no mention was made of schools. 
The activity of Jefferson in the promotion of schools in Virginia is 
evidence that this failure on his part was not due to indifference 
toward education. About a year later, April, 1785, a similar ordi- 
nance was presented in which provision was made for schools, for 
religion, and for charitable purposes. Two amendments resulted 
in the striking out of the words providing for the support of reli- 
gion and charitable purposes. On May 20, 1785, the ordinance 
was passed which provided for the granting of the sixteenth section 
in every township for school maintenance*, but no land was 
granted for religion and charitable purposes. 

The lack of definiteness in this ordinance concerning its operation 
illustrates the third lack. Not until the ordinance of 1802, known 
as the Enabling Act for Ohio, and again in the act of 1803, relative 
to the disposition of lands in Michigan, was Congress explicit in 
this matter. The attitude of Congress was made clearer in the act 
of 1787, known as the ordinance for the disposition of lands in the 



^Report of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1892-1893, Vol. II, p. 1269: Journals 
of Congress, 1774-1778, Vol. IV, pp. 520-522, appendix, 17, 18. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 35 

Northwest Territory, when section number twenty-nine was given 
for religion, though onh^ two instances appear showing that this 
part of the provision was carried out.* However, the granting of 
the sixteenth section was made perpetual by this ordinance, and 
the provision has been carried out in all Avestern states. These two 
acts conveyed a clearer attitude of the Government's relation to 
public education, that of "positive support of schools by the public 
lands; the necessity of school asociations in order to obtain the 
benefit of that grant ; and the inseparable connection of land titles 
with the idea of education, "t Twelve states received the allowance 
of the sixteenth lot between March 3, 1803, and August 14, 1846.* 

According to the act of August 14, 1848, the thirty-sixth section, 
in addition to the sixteenth, was provided for schools in all public- 
land states to be admitted thereafter. Senator Stephen A. Doviglas 
was instrumental in securing this grant. It arose out of a need for 
additional support. The availability of the land made the measure 
an acceptable one. Seven states and eight territories received this 
allowance § which with what the above states receive according 
to the "Sixteenth Section Grant," makes an aggregate of 67,893,- 
919 acres, given for common schools. 

In addition to these, certain other public lands were granted the 
several states by the Government for special purposes. It seems 
that the primary object of the Government in these grants was that 
of providing for the development of the states, and in a certain 
sense for the conservation of the states' resources. This is the 
attitude of the Government in providing for the internal develop- 
ment of the states. The states interpreting the spirit of these 
grants rather than the letter turned the funds, through consent of 
Congress and by action of respective legislatures, to the support of 



*Ohio Company Tract and what is known as the Symmes Purchase. See Am. 
J. Educ, Vol. 17, p. 68. 

tAm. J. Educ, Vol. 28, p. 932. 

tOhio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Michigan, 
Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Report of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 
1880, p. XXXI; also 1892-1893, Vol II, p. 1283. 

iStates: California, Minnesota, Oregon, Kansas, Nevada, Nebraska, and 
Colorado; Territories: Washington, New Mexico, Utah, Dakota, Montana, 
Arizona, Idaho, and Wyoming. See Report of the U. S. Com. Educ, 1880, 
p. XXXI. 



36 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 



schools. The "Five Hundred Thousand Acre Grant'', perhaps 
the most iniportant of these for education, was made by act of Con- 
gress, September 4, 1841. Wisconsin, Iowa, Oregon, Kansas, 
California, and Nevada provided in, their state constitutions for the 
diversion of this fund to educational purposes. In Iowa alone 
535,473.54 acres were put at the disposal of the schools, the excess 
of acreage being adjusted by the State 's paying the General Govern- 
ment one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre for it.* All the 
states admitted into the Union since the passage of this act par- 
ticipated in this grant except West Virginia and Texas, t the total 
acreage granted in this way reaching 9,000,000.$ 

In addition to this grant, certain portions of the public domain 
contiguous to salt springs were granted to the states with the pro- 
vision that they be used as the legislatures directed. These lands 
came to be at the disposal of the schools. "In Ohio the amount 
realized from the sale of the saline grants and added to the com- 
mon school fund was reported in 1850 at $41,024; in Indiana the 
state school fund realize from the same source, $85,000. "§ Loui- 
siana, Mississippi, and Indiana by constitutional provision places 
the revenues from the sales of swamp lands, granted by act of Con- 
gress, 1850.11 to the benefit of public education. Missouri, Ohio, 
Wisconsin, and other states, made similar disposition of these lands 
by general laws. Not all of these funds went to the common schools. 
Iowa, for example, finally placed the returns to the State University 
though the proceeds for a time had been used by the public schools, tt 
Riparian lands in some states found a place in the school funds. J $ 

Seminaries and Universities: — The granting of land and other 
kinds of support to higher education originated with the colonies. 
Rhode Island, though in general opposed to a public school system, 
took early and definite steps toward assisting boys to a higher edu- 
cation. It was a means of producing leadership, heartily appre- 



*Bufifum, Federal and State Aid to Education in Iowa, pp. 26-36. 

tThese states had no public lands within their borders. 

tSee U. S. Bureau of Educ, Cire. of Inf., No. 2, 1879, p. 10 (Reprint). 

§Ibid, p. 11. 

IIU. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. IX, pp. 519-520. 

ttBuffum, Federal and State Aid to Education in Iowa; pp. 47-54. 

ttMurray, Hist. Ed. N. J., p. 23. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 37 

ciated by the Colony.* The ordinance of 1787 which provided for 
federal aid to higher education was an expression of the growing 
ideas embodied in the constitution of Massachusetts, — a constitution 
borrowed in part by twenty-five or more states, as well as by the 
Government itself when the ordinance of 1787 was drafted. 

This continental ordinance of 1787 relating to the disposal of 
lands in the Northwest Territory which by relinquishment had 
become public domain, came to contain a provision for a "semin- 
ary of learning", a university, in the territory north of Ohio. 
Two complete townships of land in each state made out of this ter- 
ritory^ could be given perpetually by the respective legislatures for 
the support of state universities, t Though Congress was no doubt 
in favor of education, the provision in the second proposed bill for 
a grant for religious and charitable purposes complicated the prob- 
lem, so that a great deal of effort and parliamentary ingenuity 
seemed to be necessary to secure favorable action. The provisions 
of this ordinance came to be applied in the case of all states 
admitted to the Union. It is difficult to ascertain with any degree 
of accuracy the value of lands granted for higher institutions, but 
the acreage granted is reasonably well calculated. From the figures 
given in the Report of the Commissioner of Education, t it is found 
that an aggregate of almost two and one-half millions of acres of 
land valued at five dollars per acre§ has been given for higher 
education. 

Colleges of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts : — In July, 1862, 
10,450,000 acres II were provided by act of Congress for the estab- 
lishment of Colleges of Agriculture and Llechanic Arts. This 
grant in particular, as were all grants in general, is significant for 
the stimulation it gave to the states. It served to call out an 
aggressive attitude on the part of the states to the assumption of 
responsibility in providing educational opportunities for their citi- 
zens. This type of school has received ready support from the 



*Murray, Hist. Ed., N. J., p. 10. 
tU. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. VI, p. 810. 

iEeport of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1896-1897, Vol. II, pp. 1137-1164. 
§$4.73. 

IIEeport of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1892-1893, Vol. II, p. 1284; also U. S. 
Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1890, No. 1, p. 338. 



38 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

states, as well as from the Government, — a fact partially explained 
at least by local interest and need. In this act we have had illus- 
trated for us the result of persistent state and local co-operation in 
demanding of Congress liberal grants from the public domain for 
this type of institution. By the act of 1862, — a similar act having 
been vetoed by President Buchanan in 1858, — thirty thousand acres 
of land were granted to each state for each senator and represen- 
tative in Congress, according to the census of 1860. The attitude 
of the Government is shown in the provisions drafted for receiving 
the grant. The states to receive the benefits of the grant had to 
accept the terms of the ordinance within two years and to provide 
for a college within five.* This was amended slightly in 1866t 
making it easier for the states. 

The student of educational history must be cautious, however, 
in assuming that Congress was anxious to promote education. It 
seems that she had in mind rather the development and conserva- 
tion of the resources of the states and to this end this type of 
school seemed expedient. Time has shown that Congress did better 
than she knew in this respect. She was about equally divided on 
the question of these grants, and in 1858 could not pass the ordi- 
nance over the veto of the president. It seems evident that the 
act of 1862, like those of 1785 and 1787, was secured only by polit- 
ical and business ingenuity rather than by educational statesman- 
ship, for it was passed and approved only after repeated petitions 
from the states, farmers' institutes, and associations, and because 
of the general persistency of public opinion. We must remember 
however that Abraham Lincoln was president in 1862 and that he 
arose as high in educational statesmanship in encouraging and 
signing the bill as James Buchanan had arisen in political crafti- 
ness in vetoing the bill of 1858 thereby espousing the constitutional 
objections of scheming politicians of the South who opposed agri- 
cultural and technical education. $ Opponents of the act asserted 



*U. S. statutes at large. Vol. XII, pp. 503-505. 

tU. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1890, No. 1, p. 340, for amount 
derived from the sale of the United States land or script in accordance 
with the act of 1862. 

tKnight, G. W., History and Management of Land Grants. — In American 
Historical Association Papers, Vol. I. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 39 

that it was as unconstitutional to grant donations to the states as 
to offer force or violence, — force and violence being vital topics of 
debate at this time. Therefore, to say that the land grant acts rep- 
resented the highest degree of educational statesmanship is hardly 
true to the facts. The educational statesmanship which was mani- 
fested at the time was quite as much outside of Congress as it was 
in. 

Private Enterprises. — Congress was deluged during the early 
part of the ninetheenth century with petitions for donations of land. 
Schools for the deaf and dumb, insane asylums, orphanages, special 
interests, colleges, and other enterprises presented petitions for 
donation. Congress has been conservative in these matters and 
for the most part has refused to grant lands for such purposes; 
even the general and almost unanimous appeal for the land grant 
to agricultural and mechanical colleges was rejected effectively by 
one president. It was easier evidently for the Grovernment to see 
the importance of granting aid through land grants and otherwise 
to agencies concerned with material prosperity than to agencies of 
education. Private enterprises seldom secured the attention of 
Congress. 

The grant of a township of land in the State of Ohio, February 
the twenty-seventh, 1801, to Arnold Henry Dohrman known as the 
"Dorhman Grant" though not educational is mentioned here to 
present an instance of how the policy of the Government has come 
to be defined. Though consistently refusing grants to private 
enterprises, even aid to institutions for the deaf and dumb, or the 
unfortunate insane, on the grounds that these are state matters, yet 
she offers no hesitation in reimbursing by grant a man who as agent 
of the United States, out of his own generous impulse, fed, clothed 
and nursed unfortunate sailors who had been captured by British 
cruisers.* The same attitude is expresed in grants to private 
individuals for special service to the eountryt, for exploration^, 
and other works. Comparatively little was granted for education. 



^Donaldson, The Public Domain, p. 209. 

tMarch 3, 1803, "Cong-ress directed the Secretary of War to issue land 
warrants to Major-General LaFayette for 11,520 acres" and later gave him 
a sum of money. See Donaldson, The Public Domain, p. 211. 

$Louis and Clark Expedition by act of March 3, 1807. See Donaldson, p. 211. 



40 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

Among the grants, the following are given by Mr. Eaton :* 
Alabama Lafayette Academy . . . 4,801 acres 

Connecticut Asylum for Education of Deaf and 

Dumb 23,040 acres 

Dakota Holy Cross Mission .... 160 acres 

Kentucky Asylum for Education of Deaf and 

Dumb 22,400 acres 

Louisiana Pine Grove Academy (Quit Claim) . 4,040 acres 
Mississippi Jefferson. College .... 30 acres 

Missouri Town Lots (In aggregate) . . . 1,400 acres 

The asylum in Kentucky became on March 3, 1843, a function in 
Centre College of Kentucky. This grant was made April 5, 1826, t 
Though only thirty acres are reported in the above list for Jeffer- 
son College, yet by act of Congress, March 3, 1803, thirty-six sec- 
tion of Mississippi public lands were granted for the use of this 
college. The readiness of Congress to respond to the petition of 
the newly organized board of Jefferson College seems to have been 
due to several reasons : first, ossibly an appreciation, of the impedi- 
ments peculiar to a community "but lately emerged from the 
lethargic influence of an arbitrary government, 't and of the effort 
of the trustees to meet this situation ; second, and no less effective, 
though possibly not as fundamental, the opportunity for Congress 
to memoralize Thomas Jefferson in the name of the college; and 
third, probably an assumed obligation in the adjustment of land 
claims in the South. 

Congress as said above did little for private or specific institu- 
tions, yet she assumed some direct responsibility of educational aid 
in the District of Columbia. In 1833 Congress made an appropria- 
tion of lands to Georgetown College (now Georgetown University), 
an institution under the control of the Roman Catholic Church. 
These lands, according to Blackmar,t were valued at twenty-five 
thousand dollars. This was the only help given this institution. 
Columbian College, changed to Columbian University in 1873, and 
to George Washington University in 1904, was established in the dis- 



*U. S. Bureau of Educ, Cire. of Inf., 1879, No. 2, p. 9 (reprint). 
tUnited States Statutes, Vol. VI, p. 339. 
*U. S. Bureau of Educ., Circ. of Inf., 1899, No. 2, p. 26. 
§Ibid, 1890, No. 1, p. 55. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 41 

trict of Columbia by Congress in 1821. The original Columbian 
College founded by the Baptists in Philadelphia and removed to 
Washington was made the theological section of Columbian College 
now under national direction. Columbian College in Washington 
received the proceeds of sales of land to the amount of twenty-five 
thousand dollars, — a fund set aside for the endowment of profes- 
sors' salaries.* 

SUPPORT BY APPROPRIATION. 

The Federal Government, in no way emphasizing appropriation 
of moneys for education, has granted in many instances what is 
essentially money. Wherever a per cent of the sales of lands is 
granted for educational purposes, it is essentially the appropria- 
tion of moneys. Land moneys constitute the larger portion of the 
funds given by the Federal Government ; however, the attitude of 
Congress has been expressed occasionally by favorable or unfavor- 
able action on appropriation bills. 

Many statesmen, foremost among whom being George Washing- 
ton, advocated the appropriations of money for a national univer- 
sity as a safeguard for the nation. This appropriation was never 
made, but the statesmanship displayed at the time perhaps compen- 
sated for any advantage the establishment of a university might 
have afforded. The first main argument of George Washington in 
favor of appropriating money for a national university was the lead- 
ers of an unestablished, though independent government, must be 
trained in the struggles of the country itself, and therefore to 
depend upon other countries for the training of the youth was 
unsafe. Washington was opposed by those who felt that the obli- 
gation for educating yovith rested with the states or if appropria- 
tions were to be made that they should go to such institutions as 
were already established. Another reason, and perhaps more 
inclusive for Washington's espousal of the idea of a national uni- 
versity in preference to aiding seminaries already established, was 
the need of an American institution sufficiently endowed by national 
aid that the best professors available could be secured, an impos- 



*U. S. Statutes, IV, p. 603. 



42 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

sibility in narrow and meagerly endowed seminaries. In spite of 
repeated attempts to get action in Congress favorable to a national 
university, nothing could be done and in 1873, the last attempt 
was made when a bill was reported providing for a university 
endowed by the Federal Government with twenty millions of dol- 
lars upon which five per cent interest Avas to be secured.* The rise 
of such institutions as Johns Hopkins, Clark, Leland Stanford 
Junior, Chicago, and ten or a dozen others weakened the demand 
for a national university. Our purpose in speaking at length of 
this struggle is to show that the arguments have been without doubt 
beneficial in two directions; first, it has called out large effort, for 
promoting the best of higher institutions by private benevolence, 
and second, it has thrown upon the states again the obligation of 
promoting higher education. It is evident that a national univer- 
sity to meet present day needs must be of higher order than insti- 
tutions supported by private philanthropy or by state appropria- 
tions, t A new activity favorable to the establishment of a national 
university is gathering strength rapidly. 

Distribution of Surplus Revenues : — The first appropriation, — 
which in fact was not an appropriation but a deposit, — was voted* 
by Congress in 1836 when all but five millions of dollars of the sur- 
plus accumulated in the sales of lands and from the revenues of 
the Government were deposited with the several states as loans for 
an indefinite period of time. This distribution of the funds was not 
made for the purpose of promoting schools, but for the more gen- 
eral purpose of assisting states in developing their resources in 
which educational interests participated. The immediate motive 
perhaps was of a political nature. § That this distribution came 
directly to the promotion of education throughout the country is 
evidenced in the fact that eight states appropriated the entire income 
to education ; seven others appropriated part to education, some as 
high as one-half; only one limited the income to internal improve- 
ment; and the rest granted the fund to general purposes in which 



*House Eeport No. 89, 42nd Congress, third session, I, 90. 
tSee TJ. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1890, No. 1, pp. 29-41, 
for a discussion of the arguments for a National University. 
tU. S. Statutes at Large, V, p. 55. 
§Bourne, The History of the Surplus Eevenue Fund. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 43 

educational interests would participate.* This has been a source of 
great aid to education where so used. New York is reportedt to 
have received eleven millions of dollars in forty-three j^ears from 
this fund. Congress has never called for the deposit, nor any part 
of it, though there have been times when the Government could 
have been relieved in critical situations by such recall. The fact 
that no call has ever been issued and no expression made as to the 
future policy of the Government in the matter, it is understood 
that the money will never be demanded. J 

Grants on Sale of Lands: — A large sum of money went to the 
education fund in many states from the sale of lands located within 
the states. These are known as the two, three, and five per cent 
grants from the net proceeds of the sales of public lands. The fol- 
lowing table, compiled for the most part from the Annual Reports 
of the Commissioner of the General Land Office and in part from 
information received directly from the Office of the Commissioner 
show^s accrued amounts paid to the states for educational pui'poses. 

The first of these acts were passed in Ohio in 1802 and 1803, as 
indicated in the table. The represent the attitude of the Fed- 
eral Government toward the internal development of the states. In 
this respect it is similar to the Surplus Revenue Fund, the Surplus 
Revenue Fund coming also, for the most part, from the enormous 
sales of public lands. In the Ohio act of 1802, the State was granted 
two per cent of the net proceeds from the sales of lands, and in 
1803 three per cent additional, § for certain internal improvements 



*Mr. Murray, secretary of the board of Eegents, of New York, gives a 
table in Historical Eecords, 91, showing amounts given to each state and the 
purpose to which it was devoted, which Blackmar reproduces in U. S. Bureau 
of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1890, No. 1, p. 47. 

tibid, p. 46, note 6. 

tThe writer is supported in his statements by a letter from Chief Clerk, 
L. A. Kalbach, of the United States Bureau of Education, dated October 9, 
1911. His concluding statements are, ' ' The country has passed through three 
wars and several financial panics since 1836, and if there has been any dis- 
position to ask repayment, abundant justification for such action has already 
repeatedly arisen. I do not think that any State need hesitate in any antici- 
pated educational expansion because of the possibility of losing her share of 
that money." 

§Acts of Congress,. April 30, 1802, and March 3, 1903, (2 U. S. Statutes, 
173 and 225). 



44 



CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 



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OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 45 

specifically stated.* Similarly, as indicated in the table, other 
grants of two, three, or five per cent were made to the states 
admitted to the Union since Ohio, except Maine, Texas, and West 
Virginia, which had no public lands within their borders. 

It seems clear from the statutes that these acts were made primar- 
ily as an "encouragement" to the sales of public lands within the 
states. The distribution among the states was for internal improve- 
ments. The laying out of roads for instance, already quoted from 
the Act of Ohio, was a pioneer and significant expression of state 
development. These grants express only incidentally a favorable 
attitude toward education. They represented first of all the atti- 
tude of Congress toward expansion and settlement for purposes 
considered in the act of 1787, namely, to meet the debts of the Gov- 
ernment, and to encourage the development of the states in a co-oper- 
ative endeavor to meet these debts. That Congress acquiesced in 
the request of the states to divert the fund to education was evi- 
dence of her appreciation of the function of education in its effect 
upon expansion and settlement quite as much at it was an expres- 
sion of educational statesmanship. Justification for this discus- 
sion in this connection rests with the significance of this diversion 
of funds ; some specifically set aside for purpose of internal improve- 
ment, others for the promotion of education through the inititative 
of the state and the ingenuity of the Government. Each grant to 
the states involved a special contract as indicated in the special acts 
of Congress, t The fundamental significance of these grants arises 
therefore from the interpretation made by the states as to the under- 
lying principles of expansion, — an interpretation in which Con- 
gress acquiesced. The whole amount granted in this way from 1803 
to 1876 according to Mr. EatonJ was $6,508,819.11, of which, he 
reports, $2,997,234.35 as an estimate of the amount devoted to edu- 
cation. § The acts of Congress relative to states II admitted into 
the Union later specified that five per cent of the sales of public 



*" Laying out, opening, and making roads within said state, and to no other 
purposes whatsoever ' '. 
tSee table above, p. 44, for number of states and the dates of special acts. 
JU. S. Bureau of Education, Cire. of Inf., 1879, pp. 10,11 (Eepriut). 
SSee table above, p. 44, for report of these funds to June 30, 1910. 
IIFor example, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Washington, and others. 



46 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

lands should be devoted to the permanent common school fund of 
the respective states. Thus a fund originally set aside, as in the 
first act for Ohio, for ' ' laying out ' ' and ' ' making roads ' ', and ' ' to 
no other purpose whatsoever" came to be given to the permanent 
school funds of the states. 

Collegs of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts : — The act of 1862 
known as "The First Morrill Act", has done much for the estab- 
lishment of this type of institution. Special acts of state legisla- 
tures called many institutions into being, in order that they might 
claim the benefits of the provisions of the act. After twenty-eight 
years of experience in promoting this type of institution, the inade- 
quacy of the support fund became a serious problem in the proper 
development of the institutions. A bill providing for a continuing 
appropriation was approved by Congress, August 30, 1890. It 
consisted of an appropriation of $15,000 for the year ending June 
30, 1890, with an annual increase thereafter of $1,000 over the 
amount of the preceding year until the annual appropriation to 
each state and territory should amount to $25,000, a sum which was 
to be appropriated annually thereafter out of funds from the sales 
of public lands. * Under this act the following appropriations 
have been made : t 



1890 


$ 660,000 


1899 


1,152,000 


1908 


1,500,000 


1891 


704,000 


1900 


1,200,000 


1909 


1,750,000 


1892 


782,000 


1901 


1,200,000 


1910 


2,000,000 


1893 


864,000 


1902 


1,200,000 


1911 


2,225,000 


1894 


912,000 


1903 


1,200,000 


1912 


2,500,000 


1895 


960,000 


1904 


1,200,000 


1913 


2,500,000 


1896 


1,008,000 


1905 


1,200,000 


1914 


2,500,000 


1897 


1,056,000 


1906 


$1,200,000 






1898 


$1,104,000 


1907 


1,200,000 







This table illustrates the friendly attitude of the Government to- 
ward this type of school, although but fifty-four years have passed 
since James Buchanan attached his signature vetoing the bill for 
the original grant of lands. It has come about through the efficiency 
of these institutions in promoting the material progress of the 



*Eeport of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1906, Vol. II, p. 1237. 

tTaken from the Eeports of the U. S. Com. of Educ, supplemented by 
special reports from the office of the Bureau of Education. See also Annual 
Eeport of the office of experiment stations for the dear ended June 30, 1907. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 47 

country. * A glance at the revenues of the land grant colleges for 
the year 1904 t will show a high percentage of Government support 
in the maintenance of these institutions. Statistics taken from 
Miss Spethmann 's report t shows that the Government paid more 
than twenty-two per cent of all expenditures in these colleges. She 
reports t the following analysis of the total revenues, amounting 
in 1904 to $12,194,341.02 : 
Federal Source. — 

Interest on grant of 1863 $ 730,001.58 

Interest on other grants 85,134,65 

Appropriation, act of 1890 . . . . .1,200,000.00 

Experiment stations . . . . . . 695,999.67 

Total 2,711,135.90 

State Source. — 

Interest on fund, or regular appropriation . . 1,074,605.22 
Appropriation for current expenses . . . 2,332,485.56 

Appropriation for building, etc 2,210,811.39 

Total 5,617,902.17 

Other Sources. — 

Other endowment 680,123.23 

Tuition 1,041,692.48 

Incidental fees 395,424.27 

Miscellaneous 1,748,062.97 

Grand total $ 12,194,341.02 

Further evidence of the Government's friendly attitude toward 
this type of institution is illustrated in the appropriating act of 
March, 1907, amendatory to the ' ' Second Morrill Act ' ', known as the 
"Nelson Amendment". By this amendment, a more complete and 
adequate endowment was provided for these colleges, and for such as 
might be established. The first appropriation was five thousand dol- 



*See Eeport of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1895-1896, Vol. II, pp. 1243-1298, 
for special report of Mr. Wellford Addis, specialist in the Bureau on Colleges 
endowed by Congress for the benefit of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts. 

tStatistics of Land Grant Colleges and Agricultural Experiment Stations, 
compiled by Miss M. T. Spethmann. (Reprint from Annual Report of the 
Office of Experiment Stations for the year ended June 30, 1904.) 

^According to the same report for 1904, the total of permanent funds and 
equipment of land grant colleges for that year was $72,540,588.11, 



48 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

lars for the year ending June 30, 1908, in addition to the former pro- 
vision, and an annual increase of five thousand dollars for four 
years, and thereafter the annual sum to be paid to each state and 
territory shall be $50,000 to be applied according to the provision of 
the former grants. ' ' The Bureau of Education acts as the medium 
for communication between the Department of the Interior and the 
institutions concerned and collects and examines the reports that are 
to be made by these institutions to the Secretary of the Interior. ' ' * 
The total amount appropriated for the year ending June 30,1908, 
was $1,500,000, an increase of $300,000 over the appropriation of 
the year before ; for the A^ear ending June 30, 1909, $1,750,000, or 
$35,000 for each institution ; June 30, 1910, $2,000,000, or $40,000 
for each institution. For the year 1911, the amount was $2,250,000 ;t 
1912, 1913, and 1914, respectively, $2,500,000. 

Experiment Stations : — According to the act of March 2, 1887, J 
known as the "Hatch Experiment Station Act", the sum of $15,- 
000 was appropriated to each state and each territory entitled under 
the provisions of the act, out of moneys accruing from sales of pub- 
lic lands. This act was in a large sense an "encouragement to 
systematic and scientific work, carefully reported ; ' ' for the making 
of the report was a condition of receiving the appropriation. Con- 
necticut had had the honor of conducting the first experiment sta- 
tion ;§ other states had followed. "In 1886, about twelve such 
stations were in operation. ' ' li During the following year this type 
of work was accelerated by the passage of the "Hatch Experi- 
ment Station Act'' which provided for the support of these sta- 
tions. ' ' In the early years when new states were being formed and 
new stations organized, the disbursements did not always coincide 
with the years in which the appropriations were made.'' Accord- 
ing to the provisions, certain supervising powers are vested in the 
Government through the Department of Agriculture and the Treas- 
ury, Though the first payment was to have been made on the first 



"Keport of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1906, Vol. 2, 1238. 
tAceording to the provisions of the Act. 
tU. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 24, 440-442. 

§Established, 1875, by Mr. Orange Judd, of Middletown, Conn. See report of 
the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1890-1891, Vol. I. p. 635. 

IIEeport of the U. S. Cora, of Educ, 1890-1891, Vol. 1, p. 635. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 49 

day of October, 1887, no payments were actually made till 1888. 
The appropriations and disbursements under this act are as fol- 
lows :* 

Appropriations Disbursements 

by Congress by the Treasury 

For the fiscal year ending June 30 : 

1888 $585,000 $427,500.00 

1889 585,000 713,792.63 

1890 585,000 624,523.56 

1890 47,500t 

1891 660,000 662,499.74 

1892 708,000 718,333.30 

1893 708,000 702,408.67 

1894 720,000 723,561.83 

1895 720,000 719,701.00 
1895 720,000 719,802.89 

1897 720,000 716,199.86 

1898 720,000 723,321.14 

1899 720,000 719,986.56 

1900 720,000 719,998.70 

1901 720,000 719,998.90 

1902 720,000 719,469.72 

1903 720,000 719,999.50 

1904 720,000 719,999.67 

1905 720,000 718,163.45 

1906 960,000 956,617.70 

1907 1,056,000 1,007,732.30 

1908 1,152,000 1,150,585.55 

1909 1,248,000 1,246,231.90 

1910 1,344,000 1,342,574.58 

1911 1,440,000 t 

The disbursements by the treasury for 1912 was $718,850.80. 

The appropriations for 1913 and 1914 remain the same as for 1912. 



*Report from the office of Experiment Stations, November 10, 1911. 
tDeficiency appropriations of $30,000 for Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, 
$15,000 for Rhode Island, and $2,500 for North Dakota. 
JNot available at the time of the report. 



50 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

The appropriations for the Alaska Experiment station were $30,000 
for 1913 and $35,000 for 1914, according to the report of Mr. True, 
Director, 

"In Alabama, Connecticut, Hawaii, Louisiana, Missouri, New 
Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Virginia separate stations 
are maintained wholly or in part by state funds. A number of 
sub-stations are also maintained in different states. Excluding the 
sub-stations, the total number of stations in the 48 states is 59, and 
in the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii, Porto Rico and 
Guam, 65. Of these, 50 receive appropriations provided for by the 
acts of Congress approved March 2, 1887, and March 16, 1906, and 
4 by other Federal enactments. 

"The total income of the stations maintained under the acts of 
1887 and 1906 during 1912 was $4,068,240.09, of which $1,440,000 
(Hatch fund, $720,000; Adams fund, $720,000) was received from 
the National Government, the remainder $2,628,240.09 coming from 
the following sources : state governments, $1,492,798 ; individu- 
als and communities, $54,878.51 ; fees for analyses of fertilizers, 
$129,884.61 ; sales of farm products, $230,271.81 ; miscellaneous in- 
cluding all balances, $720,407.04. In addition to this, the office of 
experiment stations had an appropriation of $424,000 for the past 
fiscal year, including $30,000 each for the Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto 
Rico experiment stations, $15,000 for the Guam experiment station, 
$15,000 for nutrition investigations, $100,000 for irrigation investi- 
gations, $100,000 for drainage investigations, and $10,000 for 
farmers' institutes and agricultural schools. The value of the addi- 
tions to the equipment of the stations in 1912 is estimated as fol- 
lows : buildings, $1,003,516.47 ; libraries, $45,462.83 ; apparatus, 
$71,492.73; farm implements, $70,659.64; live stock, $99,774.49; 
miscellaneous, $215,221.79; total, $1,506,127.95."* 

Agricultural experiment stations, provided for the act of March 
2, 1887, and March 16, 1906 are operating in all states and terri- 
tories. Further, by special appropriations, the work has been car- 
ried to Alaska, Hawaii, Porto Rico and Guam. Fifty-five stations in 
the United States are provided for by acts of Congress and five by 
state funds wholly or in part. The justification for this expendi- 



"■'Statistics of Land Grant Colleges and Agricultural Experiment Stations, 
1912, by Butler B. Hare, Assistant in Agricultural Education, pp. 235-236. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 51 

ture has been demonstrated and the development of scientific agri- 
culture is recognized as fundamental to our national life. 

OTHER GOVERNMENT INTERESTS. 

It has been pointed oitt constantly that responsibility, not assumed 
by the states, or not compatible with the powers of the states re- 
verted to the Government. The second half of the nineteenth cen- 
tury presented to the Government many such situations. Therefore, 
in addition to the aid rendered to the states through grants of land 
or appropriations of money, the Government had to assume the 
responsibility, — logically hers, — of providing for certain types of 
agencies of educational progress. It has been through this pro- 
cess of directing and supporting these agencies, more or less dis- 
connected and isolated in function from the regular agencies and 
systems of education, that the Government has come to recognize 
more fully her responsibility of correlating, co-ordinating, and as- 
sisting the general agencies of education, as a distinct function. 

Alaska : — The Government has assumed the responsibility of pro- 
viding for the education of the youth of Alaska. What had been 
done there crudely though generously by private endeavor was in 
1884 supplemented by an act of Congress. An appropriation of 
$25,000 in that year was the beginning of the Government's effort 
to this end. The following table * shows exactly what has been done. 

1884 $25,000 1897 $30,000 



1887 


15,000 


1898 


30,000 


1888 


25,000 


1899 


30,000 


1889 


40,000 


1900 


30,000 


1890 


50,000 


1901 


30,000 


1891 


50,000 


1902-1906 


334,438.46t 


1892 


50,000 


1906 


50,000 


1893 


40,000 


1907 


100,000 


1894 


30,000 


1908 


215,000 


1895 


30,000 


1909 


212,000 


1896 


30,000 


1910 


212,000 



"Compiled from the statistics in the Reports of the U. S. Com. of Edue. See 
1907, Vol. I, p. 382. 

tOne-half of license fees. 



52 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

No appropriations seem to have been made directly during the years 
1902 to 1905 inclusive. For the period 1902 to 1906 inclusive, one- 
half of the license fees were turned to the support of education, 
which amounted to $334,438.46. In addition for 1906, an appro- 
priation of $50,000 was made. This was doubled in 1907 and since 
that time the educational interests there have had more adequate 
support.* 

Howard University. — With the freeing of the slaves, a tremen- 
dous responsibility rested with the Government in providing ade- 
quate facilities for making teachers and leaders for the colored peo- 
ple. The Freedman.'s Bureau, t which was established in 1866, un- 
dertook the establishment of schools. The Bureau approached by 
benevolent societies assisted the freedmen in providing schools and 
further encouraged them to support the schools for themselves. 
"During the five years of its work, the Bureau spent $6,513,955.55, 
of which a considerable portion went to educational purposes, "t 
It was during this period of extension that Howard University was 
established. The original buildings for Howard University were 
built out of the Freedmen 's Bureau Fund, equal in all to about one- 
half million of dollars. 

"The first appropriation appears to have been made on March 
3, 1879, the amount being $10,000, for 'maintenance'. From that 
time forward the records seem to show that an annual appropria- 
tion has been made, the entire sum aggregating $1,217,700 up to 
June 30, 1810. "§ Since 1910, appropriations have been made as 
follows: 1911, $104,700 which includes $2,300 for an engineering 
building; 1912, $92,900; 1913, $92,000; and 1914, $101,000; and 
1915, $101,000.11 Congress with her more liberal appropriations to 
the institution has opened up more adequate facilities for the edu- 
cation of the colored race. President Thirkield says further in his 
letter that, "the appropriation of $90,000 for the building and 



*See statistics page 55, for appropriations to Alaskan Education for the 
last three years. 

tSee Cyclopedia of Education, edited by Paul Monroe, Vol. II, p. 669-700; 
see also Eeport of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1894-1895, Vol. II, pp. 1374-1377. 

JCyelopedia of Education. See above. 

§Thirkield, Wilbur P., President of Howard University, in a personal letter 
dated October 26, 1911. 

IIEeport of President S. M. Newman, 1914. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 53 

equipment of the Science Hall has for the first time opened ade- 
quate laboratory facilities in the exact sciences to the members of 
the colored race." 

Hampton Institute : — This institution founded also as a result of 
the Avork of the Freedmen's Bureau and the co-operation of the 
negroes has shared in the Land-Grant Fund of the State of Vir- 
ginia. According to the report of the principal, Hampton Insti- 
tute has, "received one-third of the state appropriation annually, 
that is, $10,329.36, beginning 1872. Li 1890 this was increased 
$5,000 through the "Morrill Act", and the increases according to 
this act were shared by Hampton Institute, the maximum of $15,000 
being reached in 1911. The only other help from the Government 
consisted in the payment of $167 each for the schooling, board, and 
clothing of Indian children. 

In connection with these institutions, it must be remembered that 
the negroes facilitated much of their progress. According to the 
report of 1870,* $61,513.03 were paid in tuition by the freedmen, 
who also paid a large part of the salaries of the teachers. The 
negroes are reported to have raised more than one-ninth of all the 
money spent by the Bureau, t Though the Government felt the 
responsibility of assisting the negro, this responsibility was en- 
hanced by the initiative of the negro himself. 

Smithsonian Institution : — Congress by act approved August 10, 
1846, founded this institution. It was provided in, this act and in 
the later act of ]\Iarch 12, 1894, that the United States should guard 
the fund which came to the institution through the bequest of 
Smithson in 1846 and should guarantee interest on the same at six 
per cent per annum. To show the amount of this fund in the Treas- 
ury of the United States and the analysis of the same, the following 
table is given.* 

The total amount of the Smithsonian fund on June 30, 1914, ac- 
cording to the report of H. "W. Dorsey, Chief Clerk, was $1,002.- 
500.00, of which $960,500 is deposited in. the United States Treasury. 
$42,000 additional is invested in registered and guaranteed 



*Ninth Semi-Annual Report on Schools for Freedmen. 
•f$750,000. 

iReport of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for the year end- 
ing June 30, 1913, pp. 5, 6. 



54 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

bonds of the West Shore Railroad Company. 

Deposited in the Treasury of the United States : 

Bequest of Smithson, 1846 $515,169.00 

Residuary legacy of Smithson, 1867 26,210.63 

Deposit from savings of income, 1867 108,620.37 

Bequest of James Hamilton, 1875 1,000.00 

Accumulated interest on Hamilton fund, 1895 1,000.00 

Bequests of Simeon Habol, 1880 500.00 

Deposits from proceeds of sale of bonds, 1881 51,500.00 

Gift of Thomas G. Hodgkins, 1891 200,000.00 
Part of residuary legacy of Thomas G. Hodgkins, 1894 8,000.00 

Deposit from savings of income, 1903 25,000.00 

Residuary legacy of Thomas G. Hodgkins 7,918.69 

Deposits from savings of income, 1913 636.94 

Bequest of William Jones Rhees, 1913 251.95 
Deposit of proceeds from sale of real estate 

(gift of Robert Stanton Avery), 1913 9,692.42 
Total amount of fund in the United States 

Treasury $ 955,500.00 

In addition to this co-operation of the Government with the In- 
stitution, Congress has entrusted certain specific functions to the 
Institution for which definite appropriations have been made from 
time to time. For the year ending June 30, 1914, Congress appro- 
priated amounts as follows for disbursement through the In- 
stitution for the objects specified, information being taken from 
the Sundry act approved June 23, 1913 : * 

International Exchange Service $32,000.00 

Bureau of American Ethnology .... 42,000.00 

Astrophysical Observatory 13,000.00 

United States National Museum 

Furniture and Fixtures 50,000.00 

Heating and lighting 50,000.00 

Preservation of Collections 300,000.00 

Books 2,000.00 



*Eeport of the Chief Clerk, H. W. Dorsey. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 55 

Postage 500.00 

Building Repairs . 10,000.00 

Bookstaeks for Government Bureau Libraries . 15,000.00 

National Zoological Park 100,000.00 

Readjustment of Boundaries of National 

Zoological Park 107,200.00 

International Catalogue of Scientific Literature . 7,500.00 
Bureau of Education : — The United States Bureau of Education 
was established by act of Congress, March 2, 1867, as a Department 
of Education. The purpose of the Bureau was to show the condi- 
tion and progress of education in the states by statistics and other- 
wise, and to diffuse "such information respecting the organization 
and management of schools and school systems, and methods of 
teaching, as shall aid the people of the United States in the estab- 
lishment and maintenance of efficient school systems, and otherwise 
to promote the cause of education throughout the country. ' ' * 
The act provided for an expenditure of $9,400 for salaries, and 
proper offices for the use of the Department. According to the 
report of the Commissioner of Education, t no appropriations ex- 
cept for salaries, were made until 1871, when the sum of one thous- 
and dollars was appropriated for a library and $3,000 for the pur- 
pose of collecting statistics. In 1878 an appropriation of $1,500 
was made for distributing documents. Up to 1878 an aggregate 
total of $218,807 had been expended for the w^ork of the Bureau. 
From 1878 to June 30, 1910, $1,930,620 additional was appropria- 
ted specifically for the maintenance of the Bureau, making an ag- 
gregate total of $2,149,427. Since 1910 appropriations have been 

1911 1912 1913 1914 
Salaries $65,200 $66,800 $66,800 $66,800 

Collecting Statistics 4,000 4,000 4,000 3,600 

Distributing Documents 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,500 

Alaska, Education 200,000 200,000 200,000 200,000 

Alaska, Reindeer 12,000 12,000 5,000 5,000 

Rural and Industrial Education 6,000 15,000 15,000 

Traveling expenses 1,500 



*From Act to Establish : See Eeport of the U. S. Com. of Bduc, 1907, Vol.1, 
p. 35. 

tl907. Vol. I, p. 35. 



enlarged and new work undertaken as the foregoing analysis of 
funds shows.* 

In addition to the work of the Bureau, the Government under- 
takes certain other functions which are more or less identified with 
the educational progress of the Nation. The military and naval 
schools, the education of the youth of Porto Rico and Philippine 
Islands, participation in the support of the schools in the District 
of Columbia, represent other activities of the Federal Govern- 
ment toward promoting the integrity of the Union through the 
encouragement of education. The next chapter will deal with the 
expression of the initiative of states in promoting schools and the 
means of education, and the relation of their efforts to those of the 
Federal Government, on the one hand, and to private philanthropy 
and endeavor, on the other. 
Early school support among the states 



*Special report of L. A. Kalbach, Chief Clerk. 



EARLY SCHOOL SUPPORT 
AMONG THE STATES 



"I cannot forbear repeating the opinion I expressed to the Gen- 
eral Assembly three years ago, that the public schools should be sup- 
ported by taxation of property, and that the present rate system, 

or per capita tax upon scholai"s, should be abolished. The per 

capita system is based upon the idea that education is a personal 
benefit for which those who receive it should pay, while the true 
theory of popular education is that it is a public benefit for which 
the public should pay." — Governor James W. Grimes.. Extract 
from message to the Seventh General Assembly of Iowa, January 
12, 1856. 



INTRODUCTION 

The principles underlying the aggressive activities of the states 
were expressed in terms of character and the perpetuity of demo- 
cracy. The notion that the safety of the state must rest with the 
intelligence of its citizens was no new notion at the beginning of 
the nineteenth century. However there was no system of schools, 
speaking broadly, which would promote the type of intelligence con- 
cerning which they had talked so ardently. They glowed over the 
dignity and truth of the oft-quoted sentiment: "Religion, Moral- 
ity and Knowledge, being necessary to good government and the 
happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall 
forever be encouraged ' ' ; but the methods of procedure for estab- 
lishing and maintaining schools were but dimly appreciated even by 
the most ardent promoters of education. 

The first half of the cen.tury presented many and difficult prob- 
lems incident to the establishment of systems of schools throughout 
the several states ; and with few exceptions, little had been accom- 
plished toward establishing systems supported by the public prior 
to the middle of the century. It is important to note that forces 
were operating, bringing to recognition the need of state participa- 
tion in promoting schools. This was a process of progressive change. 
The rise of the system has come therefore from certain spurts of 
co-operative spontaneity which has dignified the state with the re- 
sponsibility of providing schools. In spite of prevalent indiffer- 
ence, contempt, and even open hostility, no other course but to es- 
pouse the notion of tax-supported schools was open to the states. 
Colonial experience had demonstrated the desirability and inev- 
itableness of the state's assuming the function of correlating and 
co-ordinating private and philanthropic effort; and this need was 
persistent during these formative times. The cAals of private schools 
could be corrected* only by means of public schools, open, free, and 
equal to all the children of the state ; and further economic progress 



■*See above, page 26, how the coirunittee appointed in Ehode Island to in- 
vestigate and recommend a method of regulating private schools reported in 
1785 that the only method of correcting the evils of the private schools lay in 
the establishment of public schools. 



60 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

was possible only by the order and the discipline of a correlating 
and co-ordinating unit of control. 

The conditions produced in the unwholesome competition between 
private schools demanded a supervising and directing power of a 
more inclusive kind. Logically, this rested with the state ; first, be- 
cause in civil and political matters the state was being recognized 
as a competent and responsible directing agency; and second, be- 
cause what is demanded by all the citizens of the state can be sup- 
plied only by the state — certainly not by competing factions, by ven- 
turers, or even by well meaning philanthropists. The responsibility 
of providing an efficient system of state-supported schools evolved 
gradually therefore out of the more or less chaotic, disintegrating, 
and decentralizing tendencies expressed in the "chance-medley" of 
private endeavor. 

It is reported that Massachusetts, for example, in 1834, felt a cer- 
tain lack of state integrity in school matters owing to the seeming 
over-emphasis of local initiative in school support, or rather to a 
seeming lack of correlation and co-ordination of the activities ini- 
tiated by local communities. To level the system upward in addition 
to making tax laws obligatory, Massachusetts provided for the es- 
tablishment of a permanent school fund — not for the purpose of 
supporting the system but to afford a means of securing a proper 
and valuable interaction between constituent units by means of a 
central agency of control. It typifies a general tendency toward in- 
teracting and co-operative endeavor. 

The new problems of the early half of the nineteenth century in 
government, in industry, in national and state expansion, demanded 
a type of educated men not always available from the private 
schools where teachers and leaders tended to be narrow or biased. 
The real motivating force in the states, though supplemented and 
accentuated by the friendly attitude of the Government, and by the 
action of older sister states, seems to have sprung from an 
impulse to conserve the state itself in the midst of the di- 
versifying and decentralizing forces of local democracy, in- 
dividual opinion, and so-called individual right. Unanimity 
of thought and action was demanded in the stirring times 
following the Avar for independence and freedom, not only in 
promoting the religious life, but in the solution of the political, 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 61 

industrial, and social problems. This imperative position of estab- 
lishing and developing schools was the means of providing this 
more liberal type of education. 

It is to be noted that the lack of a wholesome sentiment res- 
pecting free schools handicapped the efforts of the leaders. 
Among many who believed strongly in education there was a cold 
indifference to its promotion hy means of state supported schools; 
first, because of the wide-spread popularity of privately-support- 
ed schools, second, because of contempt and open hostility ex- 
pressed in their attitude toward public taxation for education. 
It is surprising to find that, as late as the year, 1901-02, a state 
could be found where over $14,000 Avas raised by subscription for 
the support of schools.* 

The importance of the attitude of the Government is far- 
reaching. This attitude was expressed in the arguments relative 
to the disposition of lands in the Northwest Territory and in the 
acts subsequent thereto. It is clear, especially after the acts of 1802 
and 1803 1, that the states were to be obligated with the responsibil- 
ity of the education of their citizens. What the states were to do 
and how they were to do it, were almost baffling problems ; however, 
the cumulative methods of earlier efforts afforded a starting point 
in the progressive solution of these problems. It needs no argu- 
ment to show that the educational development secured in the col- 
onies by means of gift, benefaction, legacy, assessment, tuition, tax, 
appropriation, and grant of land, produced a rather wholesome 
educational sentiment. These early methods were the materials 
out of which Avas to be wrought a more comprehensive and scien- 
tific method. The diversity thus produced has worked a disad- 
s^antage in educational procedure only Avhen the broad purpose of 
schools was lost sight of temporarily amidst the exaggerated notions 
of petty factionalism. 

A study of the steps in the evolution of schools has been fascin- 
ating. First, education was supported through private efforts by 
means of fees and private funds. Parents were enjoined to as- 
sume the responsibility of educating their children. Second, edu- 



*Eeport of the Supt. of Pub. Instruction of Kentucky, 1901-1903, pp. 360- 
361. 

tFor the Enabling Act of Ohio, see page 44. 



62 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

cation was supported, in addition to fees and private funds, by 
means of philanthropic agencies. Education was distinctively a 
private enterprise, but it became institutionalized. Third, the 
school was quasi-public, that is, restriction on attendance was re- 
moved to some extent and the institution partook of the nature of 
a public school, though support was the same as in the above types, 
being supplied by benefactions and fees. Fourth, the school was 
semi-public in that fees were remitted to those not able to pay, and 
these fees were subscribed for, assessed upon the community, or 
even raised by local taxation.. Here was a suggestion of co-opera- 
tion between state and private endeavor though control remained 
with private individuals. Fifth, schools were supported by local 
taxation and oftentimes further assisted by the state. This step 
is illustrated in such states as had made provision for free schools 
particularly for the poor. The efforts of the states to provide for 
the children of the indigent gave rise to what were usually spoken 
of as ''Charity'' or "Pauper" schools. Sixth, the school became 
a state institution supported b}^ taxation and further by state 
appropriation. 

At this level the state undertook the task of directing the ener- 
gies within her borders by establishing a uniform and efficient 
system made stable and effective by adequate direction and sup- 
port. The purpose of the state was not to supplant private en- 
deavor, nor to discourage the wholesome diversity of ideals and 
methods resulting from the expression of individual initiative, 
but rather to afford a more rational method of directing these en- 
deavors in order to promote learning and to prevent the evils and 
extravagance of misguided and uneconomical efforts, typified so 
often in the enterprises of the venturer or of the philanthropist. 

It is the purpose of this chapter to show how the various policies 
of the state systems came to be a reconstruction, of these same exper- 
iences into a more scientific procedure ; how the various methods of 
modern support, namely, the establishment of permanent funds, 
the levying of local taxes, the voting of state taxes, and the volun- 
tary system, have co-operated; and how the effectiveness of all 
these methods lies in a full appreciation of the ideals underlying 
our national life. The rise and development of permanent school 
funds will be our first consideration. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 63 

PERMANENT SCHOOL FUNDS. 

Purpose of the Funds. 
The development of permanent school funds has had an important 
influence upon state initiative in educational matters. Just what 
the purposes were in the establishment of these funds is not always 
clear.* Whether it was to provide a scheme for abolishing school 
taxation, as seems to be illustrated in much of the attitude of 
Connecticut, or simply to relieve taxation, illustrated in New York 
and Massachusetts, or to encourage education by fixing a source of 
control and direction by which the stability of the system might 
be secured, cannot be answered in general terms. However, it 
seems doubtful that very many states had the notion at the begin- 
ning that these funds would substitute taxation.'*' There are suffi- 
cient evidences that some states soon lapsed to such a level of 
attitude. It was not difficult for such a notion to arise in the 
midst of active opposition. Since the main source of the per- 
manent funds was the income from the sale of public lands, the 
hope of freedom from taxation vrould be quite natural, especially 
in the light of the discussions concerning the distribution of the 
Surplus Revenue Fund. The effectiveness of such a thought is 
appreciated when we recognize that most states had taken only pre- 
liminary steps in taxation and some not even those. When the 
states were expecting the funds to be adequate for their schools, 
when supplemented by rates, the term of school was limited so that 
the available funds were actually made adequate. 

Sources of the Funds 
The Government system of landgrants affords a most important 
item in the consideration of the sources of these funds.* It was 
not until the states accepted the conditions of the Acts of 1785, and 



*Swift, Public Peiinanent Common School Funds in the United States, 
1795-1905, pp. 160-203. 

tSome states had permanent funds before taxation; some developed them 
long after; and still others never have had any. 

tSee Swift, Public Permanent Common School Funds in the United States, 
1795-1905; also Cubberlj^, School Funds and their Apportionment, pp. 55-66; 
and also Sylvester, The history of Permanent School Funds in the United 
States, in typewritten form, Library of the State University of Iowa. 



64 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

1787, that the permanent school funds came to have integrity. The 
states took the initiative of attempting to secure their own develop- 
ment and expansion by means of schools as well as by ' ' laying out 
public roads. ' ' To this end, lands other than those provided for in 
the Acts of 1785, and 1787, went to swell the large amounts of 
money that eventually found its way into the school funds in many 
states.* There was a general consistency in the states in the atti- 
tude expressed toward lands and moneys coming to them by con- 
gressional authority. In addition to these there may be given an 
almost innumerable list of sources of lesser importance and of more 
or less stability. 

To the Surplus Revenue Deposit, were added moneys arising 
from sales of timber, mineral permits and leases, forfeitures, roy- 
alty on iron ore, profits on sale of bonds, — the last four illustrated 
in the case of Minnesota, — shares of railroad stock, as in Massa- 
chusetts, bank taxes, as in New Hampshire, parts of earnings of 
railroads, as in Georgia, income from state bank stock, as in Ken- 
tucky, fines for penal offenses, as in North Carolina, or marriage 
and tavern licenses, as in Delaware, county funds, as in Illinois, 
arrearage taxes, escheats, salvages, as in Florida, and private bene- 
factions, illustrated in the Huntington t fund of Vermont. From 
these and other varied sources large sums of money have been 
accumulated for school purposes, which are evidences of the political 
and social significance of the problem. This medley of effort 
through the interaction of ideas suggested has tended to present a 
possible clue for the construction of a scientific method of pro- 
cedure in school finance. 

Growth of the Funds. 
Among the states developing large school funds at an early day 
we have some striking examples of the growth and operation of 
the funds. Connecticut by 1833 had a common school fund valued 
at $1,000,000, due to the "Connecticut Reserve" provided for in 
the Ordinance of 1787, New York set apart lands in 1786 for 



"Saline lands, swamp lands, Five Thousand Acre Grant, percentage of the 
proceeds of sales of lands. Surplus Revenue Fund, riparian lands, and so 
forth. See above pp. 35, 36. 

tVermont State School Eeport, 1906, p. 12. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 65 

schools and in 1801 ordered 500,000 acres of vacant and unappro- 
priated lands sold and the receipts turned to the school funds. By 
1821, the fund had increased to $1,155,827.40, and almost a million 
of acres remained unsold.* The fund at the present time amounts 
to $9,097,486. New Hampshiret, in 1821, provided for a half per 
cent tax on all bank capital in the State as fund for the support 
of a college. This fund, amounting to $64,000 in 1828, was dis- 
tributed to the towns for the common schools, and for other edu- 
cational purposes. Later other additions were made. New Hamp- 
shire now reports no permanent school fund. Maine, in 1821, ap- 
propriated the proceeds of tv^^enty townships of public land for 
education. In 1820 New Jersey provided for a fund from bank 
stock and from the funded debt of the State. 

Other states, such as Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Vermont, 
made no attempt to develop a school fund during this early period, 
depending upon legislative appropriation for support. Pennsyl- 
vania has never had any permanent school fund. Forty-four states 
are now reported* as having perman,ent school funds. Accurate 
knowledge of the sources of these funds perhaps would require us 
to eliminate some from the list.§ Omitting New Hampshire from 
the list, the amounts of state and local permanent school funds 
range from $83,902,16711 in Texas to $112,154 in New Mexico, 
The former, having the largest fund in aggregate and the second 
largest in proportion to population, tt spends but a very small 
amount per capita for educational purposes. Instances have been 
given where more school money was available from these funds for 
certain counties than was necessary for the support of the schools. 
In the light of the results incident to such experiences, and such as 
Connecticut in particular had with large permanent funds, real 



*Eeport of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1894-95, Vol. II. p. 1538 ; also 1892-93, 
Vol. II, p. 1330. 

tU. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1898, No. 3, p. 15. 

JEeport of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1912, Vol. II, p. 35, Table 17. 

SiSTew Hampshire is reported as having a fund of $59,470, and an income of 
$40,404, though the Department of Public Instruction at Concord reports that 
the State has no permanent funds. The discrepancy is due to a lack of uni- 
form technique of expression concerning these funds. 

IIKeport for the year ending June, 1912. See p. 73 for 1914 report. 

ttNevada stands first in proportion to population. 



6Q CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

statesmanship was involved in the activity against the Federal bill 
of 1872 which provided for the distribution of all proceeds from 
sales of land to the several states for educational purposes. 

Louisiana has been a victim of circumstances'* more or less consist- 
ent with the history of the Southern States. It is in no sense implied 
that Louisiana lacked interest in her schools. She has compen- 
sated to a large degree for the diversion of the funds in 1872t by 
voting taxes to re-establish them. The evidence of her interest in 
this fund prior to the War is shown in the large amount accumu- 
lated, t The State had to contend with conditions incident to this 
period of reconstruction which was going on particularly in the 
South. There was general lawlessness on account of race troubles, 
which made difficult and oftentimes hazardous the protection of 
school; moneys, lying in the treasury, from robbery or misappropri- 
ation. Then, school lands vvere thrown upon the market and sold 
at public auction for a mere fraction, of their value; officers, not 
ahvays school officers, were paid too generous salaries; spoilationt 
in the diversion of the fund to pay the source mileage and per diem 
of the legislators was so flagrantly inconsistent with the spirit of 
good government that the Supreme Court denounced the act. 
Other states suffered similar spoilation.§ 

The total permanent school fund in the United States is re- 
ported II at $285,545,534, distributed among forty-four states, if 
Nev/ Hampshire is counted. Massachusetts, a state always in the 
forefront of educational progress, was one of the states to assume 
a conservative attitude toward the development of such a fund, 
pei'haps because 'of the flagrant evils incident to its establishment 
in Connecticut and elsewhere. She has not opposed the mainten- 
ance of such a fund but has attempted to keep it subordinate to 
efforts made through local taxation. In this she has expressed the 



"-•In 1872 the Free School Fuucl, amounting to more than $1,000,000 in bonds, 
was sold at public auction to pay mileage and per diem of legislators. See 
Report of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1894-1895, Vol. II, pp. 1303-1304. 

tibid. 

fU. S. Bureau of Educ, Crc. of Inf., 1898, No, 3, pp. 103, 104, ajid notes. 

§For a valuable discussion of the loss of funds in the various states, see 
Swift, Public Permanent Common School Funds in the United States, 1795- 
1905, pp. 129-159. 

IIReport of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1918, Vol. II, p. 35, Table 17. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 67 

wisdom of experience. 

The permanent school fund in Massachusetts was not provided 
for until 1834. As early as 1647 taxation for the support of schools 
was permissive in that colony, and from 1827 has been compulsory. 
The establishment of the fund in Massachusetts therefore seems to 
have been due to a need of a greater centralization of control to 
correct evils peculiar to purely localized efforts and a demand for 
state initiative in correlating and co-ordinating educational agencies. 
The establishment of the permanent fund there was an advanced 
step and in no sense considered a scheme of relief from taxation.* 
Function and Distribution of the Funds. 

The function and distribution of the income of the permanent 
school funds are no clearer than are the purposes underlying them. 
The policies for the distribution of this income were not defined at 
first and in many cases the funds were not needed. An aggressive 
state like Massachusetts made taxation a condition, of participation 
in the income of these funds. In this there was progressive cliange 
as is evidenced in the several legislative acts. In 1865 any town or 
city, to share in this distribution, had to raise by local school tax 
at least three dollars for each inhabitant from five to fifteen years 
of age. 

In other states the lack of tax-supported schools made it a prob- 
lem to distribute the moneys accrued from these productive funds. 
Often the pupils in private schools far out-numbered the pupils 
in common schools. As late as 1860, Florida with a population of 
140,000 had only ninety-seven public schools and an enrollment of 
2,032 pupils though she had one hundred thirty academies and 
other schools with an attendance of 4,486. t That a portion of the 
$22,386, income from the school fund went to these private schools 
is not therefore surprising. 

Schools lands, during these early days, were largely under the 
control of wealthy men, and the income was distributed often in 
much the same way as were private benefactions. It was only as 
injustice became very flagrant that the legislatures did anything 
to conserve the fund. It is further reported concerning the funds 



*For a discussion of early school funds in Massachusetts, see Chapter I; 
also Jackson, The development of school support in Colonial Massachusetts. 
tU. S. Bureau of Educ, Crc. of Inf., 1888, No. 7, pp. 19, 20. 



68 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

in Florida that since "these officials (that is, County Commission- 
ers) were not required to account to anyone for their disposition 
of the fund, it generally happened that it was distributed among 
the teachers of private schools according as their necessities demand- 
ed.*" There was no common school system. It was hard under the 
circumstances associated with the operation of the funds to convince 
the people that such a system was needed, — a situation not at all 
peculiar to this state. 

In Indianat the income of permanent school funds was distribu- 
ted to denominational schools and to private associations which 
were conducting quasi-public schools. Owing in part to the intense 
loyalty to the private school and to denominational colleges, these 
came to be recognized as district schools, and therefore received 
their share of the public fund. Even Caleb Mills $ who as ' ' One of 
the People" literally accomplished the founding of an aggressive 
system of public schools was careful to give in his report § of Feb- 
ruary 11, 1856, a rather glowing tribute II to these colleges. How- 
ever, he was clear in his thought that many academies and semin- 
aries would be absorbed and assimilated into the system of public 
schools when it became sufficiently graded. 

Repeated instances could be given to show that no very intelligent 
thought was put into the establishment and distribution of perman- 
ent funds. Indiana is reportedtt to have had three counties, which 



*U. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1888, No. 7, p. 15. 

tEawles, Centralizing Tendencies in the Administration of Indiana, p. 33. 

$At the time professor in Wabash College. 

§Fourth Annual Eeport of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the 
State of Indiana. See Am. J. Educ, Vol. 2, pp. 480-487. 

II" These faculties (in institutions, products of private associated enterprises) 
cherish a much more cordial interest in the advancement of popular education 
and have been a much more direct and effective agency in its real progress 
than the superficial observer supposes, or is disposed to acknowledge. Its 
history in Indiana vrould put such sapient souls to the blush, were the curtain 
withdrawn, that hides from public gaze the labors of these instructors in the 
recitation room and in the study, through the pulpit and the newspaper 
columns. The baccalaureate addresses of their five presidents for the last 
twenty years, delivered before popular assemblies, have accomplished more 
to rouse the public mind and give right direction in reference to its educational 
interests than the combined efforts of all the ignorant, prejudiced, self-con- 
ceited college croakers since the 'flood'." 

ttBoone, History of Education in Indiana, p. 196. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 69 

never claimed their share of the Surplus Revenue Fund which was 
distributed to the organized counties for the support of the 
schools. The futility of efforts in Tennessee in behalf of public 
education is repeatedly illustrated in their seemingly careless atti- 
tude toward the disposition and utilization of school lands which 
amounted to hundreds of thousands of acres, — the "munificent 
benefaction'' from the Federal Government. Possibly the defeat 
of the proper utilization of these lands for a common school system 
was due wholly, — certainly for the most part, — to the "indeter- 
minable legislative wrangles brought on by the attempt of the 
common school public to utilize the national bounty for the child- 
ren. "* These wrangles "reveal the hostile elements in the eccles- 
iastical, social, and political centers of society that for eighty years 
postponed an effective organization of popular institutions for even 
the white children of the State. ' '* 

It seems therefore that the degree of efficiency in the operation 
of the fund in any state varied with the factors which could be 
only relatively constant. These factors would not appear in North 
Carolina as they would in Massachusetts or Minnesota. Some 
of these factors which are only relatively constant are expressed in 
the general progress and sentiment of the state, in the attitude of 
the state toward taxation, in the attitude of the state toward volun- 
tary systems of school support, in the size of the fund accumulated 
and in the attitude of the state toward its increase, in the relative 
stability of the population, in the resources of the state, in the 
political and social situations, and in many other ways more or less 
variable. 

Though it is true that many variable factors have been influen- 
tial in determining the distribution of these funds, yet there is 
evolving out of the uncertain methods of the past a consciousness of 
the presence of more or less constant factors. Gradually the 
permanent fund, together with the state tax, has come to be recog- 
nized fundamentally as a means of levelling educational opportun- 
ities upward and of equalizingt the burdens of support. This is 



*Eeport of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1895-1896, Vol. I, p. 313. 

tSee Cubberley, School Fimds and Their Apportionment, for an excellent 
review and discussion of the various methods of apportioning burdens and of 
distributing school funds. 



70 'CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

accompanied by a distribution on the basis of local need and effort. 
In this situation the fund is vital to educational progress by virtue 
of the interaction it initiates between the state and the constituent 
local units. The permanent school funds have been an excellent 
basis for the first establishment of the common school systems and 
a universal encouragement to local efforts, even though they have 
not always been administered most economically. 

Since the importance of establishing and conserving the per- 
manent funds depended upon the growth of the public school idea, 
and further since the public, tax-supported school though recog- 
nized as superior was competing with a popular scheme of private 
education, it is not difficult to see why the organization, the en- 
largement, the distribution, and the conservation of these funds 
were not given reasonable consideration. Even the most ardent 
promoters of the public school system had no clear notion of the 
value of these funds for correlating and co-ordinating educational 
means and methods. It has been sho'vvn how the sources of the 
funds varied and how almost every kind of source contributed to 
the funds. 

The size of the fund is not essentially a criterion of its effect- 
iveness, though under normal conditions states with large produc- 
tive funds would have an advantage over those with small funds in 
their efforts to promote a better system of common schools. How- 
ever, it must be remembered that the establishment and mainte- 
nance of a permanent school fund is not a sine qua non* of school 
support unless it has proved itself to be in the practical solution 
of the school support problem in certain states. 

The significance of the establishment and development of per- 
manent funds lies largely, therefore, in the effectiveness of the 
fund in securing co-operation of local units as a condition of partici- 
pation in the income from the fund. What is secured by state 
tax is substantially the same ; however, the state tax can hardly be 
said to have the same degree of permanency as a fund held in 
trust, the proceeds of which may be used for schools, and which is 
invested in bonds, as in Minnesota, or in other safe securities. On 



'Pennsylvania accomplishes adequately the same purpose as the permanent 
fund by state tax and appropriation. For the year, 1908-1909, the sum of 
$7,262,500 was appropriated. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 71 

the other hand unless the permanent fund stimulates local effort 
producing effectiveness in its operation its purpose would seem to 
be not only partially defeated, but even detrimental to wholesome 
progress. And further, unless the state became more than a mere 
agency for the distribution of the income on the basis of recognized 
standards of efficiency and administration, the fund would not be a 
potent factor in conserving the best for the present generation nor 
in adding some increment for future generations. 

Illustrations of Present Funds. 
Among the states which furnish typical illustrations of the estab- 
lishment, growth, sources, and distribution of permanent funds, 
a few may be cited. From a report* from the state of Minnesota 
from which the following is taken : ' ' The proceeds from the sale of 
pine and other timber, minerals and agricultural lands, in the past 
year have added the following amounts to our Permanent Trust 
Funds : ' ' 

Permanent School Fund .... $686,322.64 
Permanent University Fund .... $29,009.17 
Internal Improvement Land Fund . . 5,410.67 

Swamp Land Fund ..... 372,091.88 



Total $1,092,834.36 

From the same report the condition of the Permanent School 
Fund was found to be as follows on July 31, 1911 : 

Accumulations 

Sales of lands $13,003,120.95 

Amounts paid on forfeitures, Right of Way, 

etc 195,135.83 

Sales of timber 6,170,835.23 

Mineral permit and leases . . . 287,900.77 

Royalty on iron ore . . . . . 1,670,331.29 

Profits on sales of bonds .... 361,569.94 



Total . . . .- . . . $21,688,894.01 



^Communication from the Auditor's office, 1911. 



72 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

Investments 

Cash in State Treasury .... $ 347,885.30 
Land Contracts (including $1,833,920.44 
transferred internal improvement land 

contracts) 5,802,794.42 

Bonds as follows : 

Alabama ($143,000), five per cent 140,755.00 

Delaware, three per cent . . . 4,000.00 

Louisiana, four per cent . . . 150,000.00 

Massachusetts, three per cent . . 2,595,000.00 

Massachusetts, three and one-half per cent 300,000.00 
Minnesota Capitols, three and three and 

one-half per cent 800,000.00 

Minnesota, cities, counties, townships, and 

school districts 9,727,029.29 

Tennessee, four and one-half per cent 270,000.00 

Utah, three and one-fourth per cent 100,000.00 

Virginia ($1,635,000.00), three per cent 1,451,430.00 



Total . . . . . . $21,688,894.01 

It may be added that for years, 1912, 1913, and 1914, according 
to the State Auditor's report, the fund has increased by $2,977,354.- 
58, since 1911, making a total fund on Aug. 1, 1914, of $24,668,- 
248.59. 

The State of Missouri presents an interesting and valuable il- 
lustration of the administration of this fund. Sales of saline 
lands and accrued interest on the Surplus Revenue Deposit were 
the principal sources of increase for the funds for several years. 
In 1842 they amounted to $575,667.90. In 1859, $86,300 were appro- 
priated, out of State funds, to the ' ' Permanent School Fund. ' ' In 
1861 the State School Funds were as follows according to the re- 
port indicated : 

Missouri Bank Stock $661,967.90 

Missouri Bonds (Pacific R. R.) . . . 20,000.00 



Total , . $681,967.90 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 73 



In 1901 the funds had accumulated to the amount of $12,890,- 
758.40,* According to the reportt of the present superintendent, 
the school funds remain about the same as in 1901 with the ex- 
ception of the Township Fund which has been increased by $1,665,- 
490.09, and the Special District Fund which had been increased 
by $53,036.32. The amount on hand, 1914, is $13,758,608.14, not 
including Seminary or University funds. 

In Texas the permanent school funds were reported in 1913 to 
be $83,902,167. The income from the permanent funds for the 
year ending August 31, 1909, was $2,555,257, more than forty-one 
per cent of the total school support for the year. Since 1913 there 
has been a reduction in the amount of permanent funds which the 
following report from that state for August 31, 1914, reveals: 

Bonds $18,204,363.78 

Land Notes 46,067,427.58 

Unsold Lands . . . . - . . 2,771,173.55 
Cash on hand . 35,028.18 

Total $68,077,993.09 

The figures above do not include $1,172,817 worth of railroad 
bonds which are invalid and which were taken into account in the 
figures for 1913. The figures of 1913 take into account also the 
county permanent school fund amounting to twelve or thirteen 
millions of dollars. Then, a re-valuation of land has decreased the 
estimate of the value of unsold land. This state is mentioned 
because here we find a large school fund which is just now coming 
to be effective in promoting a more efficient system. The State 
Superintendent t appreciated this problem, especially as related 
to the problem of providing the right kind of education, the best 
quality of education, and of extending equal opportunity for all 
the children of the State. 

The only source of the school fund in South Dakota is the sale 



*See Report of the State Superintendent, 1901, pp. 33-39. 
tPersonal letter, 1911. 

+The State Superintendent's Report, 1911, for the period ending Aug. 31, 
1910, pp. 7, 8. 



74 



CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 



of public lands granted to the State by Congress. This fund is 
invested in first mortgages on real estate and in municipal and 
school district bonds. The growth of this common school fund is 
typical of the newer states which have been able to profit by the 
unwise administration of funds in the earlier states. The growth 
has been rather uniform and constant :* 
1893 



1895 

1897 
1899 










1,986,097.61 
2,024,361.55 
2,637,975.21 


1901 










3,905,931.82 


1903 










4,060,265.82 


1905 










4,638,171.72 


1907 










4,781,552.72 


1909 










6,037,212.32 


1911 










8,357,435.71 



With the sale of the 2,456,965 acres remaining unsold, this state 
has a most excellent opportunity to perfect her school system 
through the operation of this fund; however South Dakota still 
distributes the income of the fund according to school population, "t 

Other states could be cited as expressing peculiarities of the 
origin, growth, and administration of these funds, such as INIichi- 
gan and Tennessee where in reality- the fund is a charge against 
the State, $ or Delaware where the fund is increased annually by 
Legislative appropriation, § or Virginia where the Literary Fund 
is increased by donations, and by all fines and escheats collected 
in the State, II or Arkansas where the fund will likely not increase 
at least for some time,tt or California where apportionment is made 
on the basis of number of teachers and average daily attendance. iJ 
However for our purpose the most vital function of permanent 



*Eeport of State Superintendent. 
tSchool Laws, 1911. 

tThe State Superintendent of Tennessee says that in reality there is no such 
fund, rather a certificate of indebtedness. 
§Report of the State Auditor. 
IIReport of the State Superintendent, 
ttlbid. 
ttSchool Laws, 1909, pp. 133-136. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 75 

funds appears to be the effect of the funds upon the development 
of the state system incident to the various methods of school sup- 
port already in operation, and especially in their interaction upon 
school support by taxation. 

Taxation 

The problem of securing an accurate and adequate notion of the 
early beginnings of taxation for schools though fascinating and 
valuable is often baffling and uncertain. In its beginning taxation 
for public schools was involved intimately and intricately with 
other means, and therefore the history of taxation presents a 
tangled web. It is unsafe to conclude that because taxation vf as 
permitted in the seventeenth century among the colonies or was 
made obligatory during the early half of the nineteenth century 
among several states, the notion of taxation was general during 
these early years. An adequate account of the growth of this 
notion would involve a discussion of the interacting influences of 
school support. The purpose here is rather to present certain 
typical and suggestive situations out of which comes a better un- 
derstanding of the importance of taxation as a means of supporting 
schools. 

Taxation was recognized clearly in the colonies, but largely as 
supplementary to other sources, or as a scheme of providing for the 
children of the poor. To overcome these notions it has required 
patience and time. Public sentiment had to be trained to an ap- 
preciation of the obligations resting upon all for the welfare of 
each. Since great spontaneity had been expressed for so long a 
time in private and philanthropic endeavor, it v/as a gradual, 
though inevitable, change that came to substitute the tax for the 
miscellaneous methods of voluntary systems. Thus the notion of 
taxation for schools grew out of the methods of voluntary systems 
when social demands showed the necessity of a reconstruction and 
of a dependence upon more reliable and constant sources. 

With the rise of state systems the income of permanent school 
funds figured as an important item in the funds of school support. 
In this respect it seems as if taxation were an expression of effort 
harmonizing the two aspects of responsibility for the education of 
youth; the activity of the state, expressed in. the growth and de- 



76 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

velopment of the permanent funds, and the interest of local com- 
munities expressed in benefactions, gifts, tuition, appropriations, 
and so forth. Taxation has had a vital meaning in relation, to both 
aspects of support. Each state made its own evaluations of the 
various available sources of support but taxation finally came to 
be appreciated as the backbone of such support. 

The objection to taxation, — and considered a fundamental one, — 
that education, was a private benefit and as such should be supported 
by those receiving the benefits, was formidable and effective for a 
long time and has not been fully met by popular sentiment even 
yet. That wealth should be taxed for the education of the children 
of the citizens was a principle felt to be incompatible with democ- 
racy. There is some objection to the principle in. certain states 
and in most states there is an ultra-conservative attitude toward 
increasing taxation to meet the new educational demands in the 
modern school. The open hostility of a century ago does not sur- 
prise us when, it is noted that in 1910 practically ten per cent of 
the revenue derived from state common school systems came from 
miscellaneous sources of which tuitions and private subscriptions 
were a large part,* and still amounts to practically seven per cent.t 

Purposes of Taxation 
The perpetuation of democracy in the spirit of which the spon- 
taneity of American life was born was a fundamental purpose in 
the evolution of taxation. Though the notion was not appreciated 
by the masses the leaders were fully aware that the evils of democ- 
racy could be prevented only by a democracy of a higher order 
wherein the good of all became an obligation upon the states. 
Legislation permitting taxation for schools accords with the early 
notion of democracy and was sufficient until the diversity of life 
demanded the direction and co-ordination of the agencies of edu- 
cation. The general acceptance of this type of democracy* ex- 
plains largely how certain local communities could justify the dis- 
tribution of permanent funds to private teachers or why certain 



*Eeport of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1910, Vol. II, p. 699. 
tlbid, 1913, Vol. II, p. 31. 

JA main argument advanced in many places yet for maintaining the district 
system of administration is that it is the most democratic. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 77 

communities failed to desire to participate in these funds* or why 
the income from permanent funds was distributed to denomina- 
tional colleges and to private institutions, as district schools. 

Permissive taxation by legislative act was a necessary step in the 
progress of tax-supported schools. The order of the General Court 
of Massachusetts in 1647 permitting taxation was effective largely 
because of the democracy which the Massachusetts Town Meeting 
expressed. In 1827, when ]\Iassachusetts realized the need of a 
more adequate correlation and uniformity within the state, a lawt 
was passed requiring the employment of teachers in towns of fifty 
families, and authorizing the towns to raise by tax any amount of 
money they might think necessary to support the schools properly. 
This compulsion was a step removed from the kind of democracy 
exhibited in the first instance. However, compulsory taxation was 
a step toward a democracy of a higher order. 

A second purpose illustrated in the beginnings of taxation for 
public education was that of increasing the support fund. It was 
common to found schools with considerable generosity, but to pro- 
vide no adeqate support for their continued maintenance. Such 
neglect or indifference is still manifest. The increase of the support 
fund* which is asked for universally by school men is demanded 
from two directions ; the adding of new departments to the system, 
and the extension of the term of school so that pupils may be fur- 
nished an enriched course of study. The leaders among the first 
settlers of Kentucky were men of more than average intelligence, 
and yet the public school system did not become firmly established 
until after 1850. This is accounted for in the fact that as early 
as 1800 more than thirty seminaries and academies were incor- 
porated and in the further fact that the State established a system 
of county academies to each of which 6,000 acres of public lands 
were granted and to which after 1820 all fines and forfeitures in the 
several counties were appropriated. During the period of 1830 to 
1850, all demoninations sought to plant colleges within the State 



*See above, pp. 67, 68. 

tSee Am. J. Educ, Vol. 24, p. 269. 

?See report of an address by Supt. Francis G. Blair, given at San Fran- 
cisco, July 1911, on Progress in Public Education. Addresses and Proceed- 
ings, N. E A., 1911, pp. 146-155. 



78 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

with the result that almost all of them, unprovided with endowment 
funds, sought to rely mainly upon tuition fees for their support. 
This is the most important explanation of the checkered career of 
many of these colleges.* 

The first effort, in 1821, to establish a system of schools in 
Kentucky failed but in 1825 a system of private schools was 
provided for by an act incorporating any group of persons 
not less than five, who might "choose to associate together to 
establish a school in their neighborhood for the sake of having 
their children educated - - - "t The system of academies 
failed, from the point of view of well-discerning men ; some were 
taken over as high schools; some remained academies; others be- 
came colleges. The idea of a public school system was opposed by 
a sentiment inherited from the Mother State.$ They were "relying 
on colleges, academies, and private tutors for families who could 
pay, and making no general provision for common schools until 
1821, when a Literary Fund v/as established out of one-half of the 
clear profits of the Bank of the Commonwealth. " § By the law of 
1838 a tax of two cents, which was later increased to three cents, 
was levied on every one hundred dollars of taxable property in the 
state. This was designed to "encourage'' the citizens to maintain 
schools. The continued dependence upon rate bills prevented a 
rapid growth of the notion of support by taxation. 

On the other hand, states with less extensive provision for edu- 
cation from private or philanthropic sources came to be more sym- 
pathetic with the notion of taxation. In these states pupils of poor 
parents were less fortunate since they were not provided for so 
largely by ecclesiastical or philanthropic societies. The first schools 
furnishing educational privileges to the children of the indigent 
came to be regarded as "Pauper" schools. This is due largely to 
the fact that the money appropriated was not adequate to make it 
either possible or desirable for the wealthy classes to use these 
schools. For example, in the State of South Carolina the earliest 
efforts to establish "free" schools were left to private initiative 



*U. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1891, No. 3, Chapter I, pp. 11-20. 

tAm. J. Educ, Vol. 24, pp. 253-256. 

^Virginia. 

§Am. J. Educ, Vol. 24, p. 253. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 79 

and it was the definite policy of the State to leave elementary 
education to the concern of private and parochial effort. Public 
education in spite of the handicap of public sentiment gained some 
recognition there. 

However, the act which stigmatized public education in South 
Carolina was passed in 1811 when a school fund was established 
concerning the distribution of v/hich it was provided that in. case 
the fund was inadequate for all classes preference was to be given 
to the poor.* The act established free schools in each district and 
parish. The sum of three hundred dollars per annum was voted to 
each school and no school was to be established until the neighbor- 
hood had built the schoolhouse. In spite of the unfortunate refer- 
ence to "preference being given to poor orphans and children of 
indigent parents" one hundred and twenty-three schools were es- 
tablished the first year.t The fund appropriated "was entirely 
absorbed by the preferred class. The rich were excluded and the 
schools, as far as they were independent institutions, degenerated 
into pauper schools."? An increase of appropriation failed to 
remedy the matter. In 1854 a demonstration of a real public 
school, — according with the notions of Mr. Barnard whose influence 
had been felt in so many states, — was made in Charleston under 
the direction of Hon. C. C. Memminger. As a result of this demon- 
stration, the State provided in 1868 for a system of free public 
schools throughout the State for a term of at least six months in each 
district, t 

Caleb Mills, in his report of 1856, appeals for additional taxes 
that the school term might be free six months instead of three. 
He points out the fact that the slight increase of taxes would be 
practically unnoticed. He says, "We have shown from data that 
cannot be questioned, that more than one-half of the tax payers of 
this commonwealth pa}^ on, $500 and less, and more than two- 
thirds pay on $1000 and less. Thus it appears that an additional 
three months' free school -would cost the aforesaid one-half of our 
citizens from one cent to one dollar, and that none of the above 
two-thirds would have to pay more than two dollars. This would 



*U. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1888, No. 3, pp. 111-112. 
tAm. J. Edue., A^ol. 24, p. 317. 
«bid, p. 318. 



80 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

be the expense of the supplementary three months' free school to 
the above named jjortion, of tax payers - - - .* A majority of 
the above-described two-thirds Avould be subjected to the expense 
of from five to fifteen dollars to maintain, in a three months' sub- 
scription school, the same children that had attended the free 
school a like period. Either the parents' pockets or the children's' 
intellectual culture must suffer by the failure to provide means 
for a six months' free school in the rural portions of the common- 
wealth, "t This illustrates the struggle necessary to secure an in- 
crease of tax in order to maintain a free public school for a longer 
period. It is another step toward equalizing the bu,rdens of school 
support by taxing wealth. 

A third purpose is seen in the voting of the tax in order to secure 
participation in the income of the permanent school funds. It is 
evident that some states looked to the permanent school fund for 
a large measure of support, other states accepted the funds as 
an "encouragement''. In either case the sentiment was reflected in 
terms of local history and policy. The grants of land made by 
Congress stimulated some states to local taxation, others only to 
the extent of making them use the income of the funds. Arkansas 
provided for the use of the school funds as early as 1836, a trustee 
for them having been appointed by the legislature in 1829; but 
as late as 1854 only forty public schools were to be found. The 
establishment of the tax came in the Common School Law of 1866- 
1867 when the inadequacy of the old methods was fully recognized. 
The act of 1843 provided for the support of schools from the in- 
terest on the school fund derived from the sales of land supplement- 
ed by subscriptions. An appropriation of one thousand dollars 
was made for the purchase of books for the use of the common 
schools, t 

In Iowa the school fund was alAvays considered an ''encourage- 
ment ' ' for schools. A per capita tax was for a long time recognized 
as the main source of income. The evils in the loAva system w^ere 



*The assessment was one mill on a dollar of property, and fifty cents on the 
poll. Am J. Educ, Vol. 2., p. 486. 

tFourth Annual Eeport of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the 
State of Indiana, February 11, 1856. See Am. J. Educ, Vol. 2, pp. 480-488. 

iV. S. Bureau of Educ, Crc. of Inf., 1900, No. 1, pp. 11-22. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 81 

not due to any erroneous notion held concerning the use of the 
permanent funds but rather to an overworking of the per capita 
tax against which several governors lodged vehement complaint. 
The attitude in Iowa was to use the fund and supplement it by 
subscription. The arguments against the rata system were argu- 
ments in favor of taxation ; and these were similar to those of other 
states. To lessen the burdens of subscribers and thereby to relieve 
the poor was a fundamental argument against the rate system and 
in favor of the taxation, of wealth for the support of schools. 
Participation in the income of the permanent school fund upon 
condition that local communities make a specified and definite 
effort in behalf of schools was a late development. Taxation was 
promoted when the conditions of participation in the income of 
permanent funds came to be imposed. 

In these examples another purpose is clear, namely, that the 
integrity of the state demanded a lessening of the burdens of per 
capita taxation and the assumption of state obligation for the 
education of rich and poor alike. It was clear that in many in- 
stances the evils incident to the promotion of private schools were 
tending to disrupt the spontaneous co-operation characteristic of 
earlier history. Mr. Paul K. Hubbs in the Fifth Annual Report* 
of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for Californiat says: 
"The Superintendent has no adequate power under the existing 
law to check, as should be done, any sectarian bias or control 
exercised upon the public schools. A sectarian war is in embryo, 
which if not quieted at once, will, combined with other causes, 
produce a lingering death, slowly but surely, to popular education 
in this State. The rejection of well qualified teachers at one time, 
because of their religious faith, produces a reacting opposite ex- 
treme at another time, and the whole catalogue of sects become 
excited to have their own churches as school houses. This is all 
wrong and the result will be disastrous." It is to be noted, how- 
ever, that in the same report a recommendation was made for a 
liberal appropriation of state money to three denominational col- 
leges which had been established. This shows the appreciation 



^January 17, 1856. 

tAm. J. Educ, Vol. 2, p. 468. 



82 CO-OPEEATIVE METHODS 

usually held for the ' ' good men of our land ' ' who were disposed to 
rear these colleges. Repeated instances of this kind support our for- 
mer contentions; first, that taxation was delayed by such private 
efforts ; and second, that taxation of all wealth was essential to pre- 
vent just such evils of aggresive factional interests. It is unecessary 
to show that support by taxation at this time was not thought of as 
a possible substitute for private support but rather a supplement of 
private endeavor. 

Methods and Means op Taxation. 

The Rate System : — The acceptance of fees for the services of 
instruction is an old custom which, to the Egyptians, to the Greeks, 
to the early Christians, and to others, was extremely odious. Plato 
held that to teach for money was simony. It is evident that gifts 
constituted practically all of the sources of support of the first 
schools of Athens. The gift was an expression of good will. Grad- 
ually it came to be displaced by the fee. This change may be attri- 
buted to the growing complexity of social life which came to deter- 
mine what constituted a proper gift. A proper gift in the light of 
any social group was essentially a fee. In our country the gift and 
benefaction supplied the wants of the teacher who was at the same 
time the minister of the Gospel or an apprentice who was waiting 
for a call to some church. 

The strength and persistency of this notion of supporting schools 
by gift, then by fee or tuition, are due largely to the attitude of the 
people toward the teaching function. It was a religious function 
and in that sense was definitely an expresion of love and regard for 
youth. It was an expression of obligation. To ask even a fee meant 
the establishment of an objective standard of value upon what, 
they thought, could not be evaluated objectively. * It Avas from 
such a point of view that support was given as ' ' encouragement ' ', 
and not as a measured equivalent of service rendered. 

The ideas of gift, of fee or tuition, of self assessment, of bene- 



*Cf. Plato's view with the sentiment among the colonists; also note the 
position of Isocrates who thought that exacting fees was an expression of a 
lack of confidence in the recipient 's character, though the recipient was 
compelled to trust the teacher. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 83 

faction, are but varied expressions of the same tendency. The func- 
tion of these sources of support is not always fully appreciated but 
ample evidence is found throughout this study of the persistency 
of voluntary support in education even j^et. To eliminate the rate- 
system which was a system of pei' capita tax meant the modifica- 
tion of this voluntary system, and further it became the first step 
preliminary to the acceptance of the notion that the education of a 
people must be supported by the income from the taxation of 
wealth. The idea of benevolence in education was born Avith the 
nation itself. 

In Connecticut* as early as 1795, "school districts were authorized 
to lay a tax to build a school house and procure a site ' ', but the ex- 
pense above the income of school funds Avere to be met by rate. 
This was provided in the law of 1810. Parents paid according 
to the total number of days' attendance of their children. This 
method had been used from the organization of the Colony, but at 
this time it was recognized as a s.Ystem. Such a scheme was quite 
in accord with the notion of promoting education through ecclesias- 
tical societies, also provided for by law in 1799 and not abolished 
until 1856. The abolition of the system of Ecclesiastical Societies 
was a part of the growing tendency to shift the obligation of pro- 
viding schools to the towns. Though attempts were made to regu- 
late the rates of tuition according to the grades of schools, nothing 
was definitely accomplished until 1868 when the town tax was 
raised to such an amount that it would be unnecesary to require 
rates any longer.* 

An analysis of the school support fund in the report of Superin- 
tendent John D. Philbrick for May, 1856, shows that by the rate 
system $31,839 were collected for the support of schools that yeai", 
and $13,603 were contributed by the Ecclesiastical Societies, making 
a total of $45,442. When it is noted that several laws had been 
passed prior to this time providing for taxation of wealth this seems 
to be a large sum. Over $70,000 were raised by the one per cent tax, 
and over $11,000 from local funds. 

The rate system in New York was effected in the law of 1814 for 
the purpose of providing for the deficiency in means to pay the 



*Ain. J. Educ, Vol. 24, pp. 233 ff. 



84 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

wages of the teachers. It was not abolished till 1849 when such de- 
ficiency was to be provided for by district tax. In Michigan rates 
were charged till 1869 and, as late as 1853, the amount raised in 
this manner approximated $38,000. At this time, provision was 
made for three methods of taxation, the two-mill township tax, the 
district tax, and the rate tax. The rate tax realized over forty- 
seven per cent of the income derived from these three sources * 

In North Carolina it is reported' that in 1840 there were 632 
subscription schools. Provision was made in the State constitution 
for schools whose masters were to be paid by the public so that they 
could teach at low prices.* This was compulsory provision and 
"paid by the public'' was a significant expression. 

The voluntary system in Ohio, the free schools for the poor 
established by constitutional act in Missouri, the payment of the 
tuition of the poor by the county commissioners in Pennsylvania, 
the proposal of the voluntary system in Virginia and in other 
states, illustrate the importance of voluntary schemes among the 
earlier settlers of the states and indicate its vital relation to taxa- 
tion. In New York the progressive injustice of the rate system 
brought about its abolition and the substitution of local taxation. 
In Connecticut the attempts to graduate the tuition resulted finally 
in the abolition of the system. In all cases to give up the rate 
system meant to take up the tax system. 

This is the struggle which went on everywhere. Though we 
read of early provisions for taxation for the support of schools in 
Iowa yet progress was slow. In 1856 Governor James W. Grimes 
made an appeal for the improvement of the public school system. § 
In his message to the seventh General Assembly, two days before 
Hon. Ralph P. Lowe was installed into office, January 12, 1856, he 
made his last official appeal for public taxation and for the abolition 
of the rate system.il In March following, the report of a commis- 



*See Review of Shearman's report in Am. J. Educ, Vol. 2, p. 510. 

tSee Am J. Educ, Vol. 2, pp. 527-530 for the report of Mr. C. E. Wiley, 
General Superintendent. 

JSee Am. J. Educ, Vol. 24, p. 300. 

§U. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1893, No. 6, p. 27 fP. 

II" I cannot forbear repeating the opinion expressed to the General Assembly 
three years ago, that 'the public schools should be supported by taxation of 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 85 

sion in the form of a bill became a law, among the provisions of 
which were the abandonment of the rate system and the substitu- 
tion of a public tax for it.* Iowa had depended too long upon the 
rate system probably due to the abundance of private and denomi- 
national schools in the state which were supported voluntarily. 

These illustrations are ample to show that there has taken place 
a gradual shifting from the private and philanthropic to the public 
and scientific schemes of support. Even yet it cannot be said that 
the transition has been fully made. Kentucky has already been 
mentionedt in this connection. Georgia, for the year, 1908-1909 
had on an average 132 days of school but only 105 days were 
maintained from public funds, the remaining twenty-seven being 
provided for by subscription. J Many of the Southern States, back- 
ward in state systems, still co-operate in this way. The "absence 
of local taxation in certain states of the South outside of the cities 

must not be taken for evidence that the community makes no 

effort in its own behalf. "§ Though voluntary contributions are 
too unstable for permanency, yet it must be recognized that they 
have been an effective source of revenue for the schools during 
these early formative days. 

Participation in Income of Permanent Funds: — In the gradual 
shifting toward taxation, the question of the distribution of the 
income became a vital one. The free use of productive funds and 
the rate system created a tendency in many instances toward self- 
satisfaction, and indifference to public taxation. Connecticut pre- 
sents such a situation. It is remembered that according to the act 
of 1810 the expenses of keeping school in the district "above the 



property, and that the present rate system, or per capita tax upon scholars, 
should be abolished.' I have seen no reason to change my opinion on this 
subject, but on the contrary, I have been every day more and more strength- 
ened in the conviction that it is the only wise and politic method of educating 
the people. The per capita system is based ujDon the idea that education is a 
personal benefit for which those who receive it should pay. While the true 
theory of popular education is that it is a public benefit for which the public 
should pay." William Salter in the Life of James W. Grimes, p. 104. 

*U. S. Bureau of Educ, Cire. of Inf., 1893, No. 6, p. 27 ff. 

tSee above, p. 61. 

tV. S. Com. of Educ, Vol. II, 1910, p. 674. 

§Ibid, p. 666. 



86 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

amount of public money was apportioned according to the number 
of days' attendance of each person at school,"* and further that 
in 1820 an act was passed which called for an "appropriation of 
$2 upon every $1,000 of the tax list of every school society (the 
regular State tax for schools)", until such time as the income 
from the school fund amounted to $62,000. It did this the follow- 
ing year and began at once to work harm to the towns by relieving 
them of effort in behalf of their schools, t 

In no other state was this danger quite so imminent since in 
other states there was evidence of rational schemes of safeguarding 
the use of this income. In Massachusetts provision was made in the 
school revision of 1836 that "No apportionment of the income of 
the school fund could be paid to any town which had not made the 
return required by law, or raised by taxation, for the wages of 
teachers only, a sum equal to one dollar for each person belonging 
to such town betwen the ages of 4 and 16." Seven years before, 
New Jersey provided by act for the first distribution of her school 
funds. "By this act towns were authorized to raise money to sup- 
port schools by tax. "J and were to raise a "sufficient" sum to 
entitle it to a share in the funds. Ten years later the towns were re- 
quired "to raise a specified sum every year", though schools were 
not till 1871. § 

It was the recommendation of a commission appointed in the State 
of New York in 1811 "that the interest of the school fund be divided 
among the different counties and towns, according to their respec- 
tive population, ; that the proportions received by the re- 
spective towns be subdivided among the districts into which such 
shall de divided, according to the number of children in each, - - ; 
that each town raise by tax, annually, as much money as it shall 

have received from the school fund . " II This plan was adopted 

in the act of 1812 and the levy was made through the assessment of 
a county tax. Any deficiency over and above these funds was met 
by the rate system up to its abolition in 1849. 



*Am. J. Educ, Vol. 24, p. 234. 

tibid. 

JIbid, p. 290. 

§Act providing for a state tax of two mills on the valuation. 

IIAm. J. Educ, Vol. 24, p. 293. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 87 

Mr. Breekenridge, Superintendent of Public Instruction for 
Kentucky from 1847 to 1852, is reported* as saying in substance 
that the granting of aid to schools should be made a condition by 
which the patrons could be induced to continue the improvement 
of their schools. He favored providing only as much money as 
would enable the people by their own efforts to keep up the public 
school. This sounds like modern educational doctrine on school 
support. The mode of distributing the money in 1852 did not 
make taxation obligatory. The funds were to be raised in any 
manner local communities might desire. Subscription schools were 
popular and, as late as 1902-1903, the sum of $14,094.13 was raised 
by subscriptions and $16,904.47 additional by tuition and other sour- 
ces, t and even in 1908-1909, $28,568.35 were raised in subscrip- 
tions and donations with $26,888.06 additional from tuition.* The 
evolution of the tax as a substitute for subscription and tuition in 
whole or in part has been extremely slow in Kentucky, 

Illinois, according to the law of 1855, restricted the distribution 
of the state or local moneys to such schools as were kept for a 
period of at least six months and which were opened for the ' ' equal 
and free instruction of all persons". In Missouri provision was 
made in the constitution of 1865 that no township could receive 
a portion of the school funds unless a three months ' free school had 
been kept in the township. 

Appropriations: — When the democracy of a people has reached 
its highest level the state participates both in the regulation and 
in the support of schools. The interaction of the factors of regula- 
tion and of support constitutes an essential condition of the state's 
integrity amidst the growing complexities of modem life. It has 
been shown that the state in assuming the obligation of direction 
and support seeks to prevent two main evils: first, the inefficiency 
and waste due to undirected or misdirected local initiative; and 
second, the niggardliness of certain local communities toward the 



*Anmial Eeport of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, submitted by 
Rev. J. D. Mathews, 1856. See Am. J. Educ, Vol. 2, pp. 488-489. 

tReport of the Superintendent of PubKc Instruction of Kentucky, 1901-1903, 
pp. 360-361. 

tReport of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of Kentucky, 1908-1909, 
pp. 153-170. 



88 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 



question of adequate school support. The notion of tax-supported 
schools illustrated in most of the colonies gradually enriched itself 
with the coming of differentiation and diversity in life, which 
freedom and independence brought. 

In the Annual Report for 1855 of the Superintendent of Public 
Instruction for the State of New York Mr. Victor M. Rice reported 
$800,000 received from the State as appropriation. This amount 
was provided for the support of schools by the law of 1851. Two 
points were involved: first, "That the money should be raised by 
the contributions of every citizen in proportion to his property 
and irrespective of his location ' ' ; and, second ' ' That it should be 
distributed and expended in the various districts of the State, in 
proportion to the result to be accomplished therein, that is, to the 
number of children of the age deemed suitable for primary in- 
struction." Recent appeals for an equal apportionment of the 
tax burden on the basis of wealth and a more equitable distribution 
on the basis of need and effort echo the spirit of the New York 
law of 1851. 

Mr. Rice* in commenting upon the law says, "It surely could 
not be deemed advisable to return to each county the amount raised 
by its own taxation to be devoted exclusively to its own schools." 
For this "would tend to exaggerate the disparity already suffi- 
ciently striking between the highly civilized and the comparatively 
rude districts." He further says in the same connection that, 
"The tax, being founded upon a recognized necessity, should vary 
with the needs it is intended to supply. These are directly appre- 
ciable by an enumeration of the children to be instructed and the 
ability to pay by the assessed valuation of the property. Any 
fixed sum is adapted to the circumstances only of a stationary 
State." Twenty years later, it is reported, t that the sum of $2,- 
610,784 was raised by miU tax for the support of the common 
school system. 

In New Jersey the income of the school fund created in 1816 
was distributed under the act of 1829 on the basis of local support 
by tax. Though the local tax was not obligatory, it was fairly 
effective and was made compulsory about ten years later. How- 



*Am. J. Educ, Vol. 2, p. 519. 
tAm. J. Educ, Vol. 24, p. 297. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 89 

ever, in 1871, the schools were made free by a state school tax of 
2 mills on the valuation.* In the report of Superintendent 
Philips, 1856, $80,000 were raised in New Jersey by public appro- 
priation in addition to other taxes. 

Though the North Central States have done little through the 
state tax, yet Michigan has come to raise a large portion of her 
school money in this way. In 1908-1909, an aggregate of $4,848,- 
130 was raised in this manner, making about forty per cent of the 
entire revenue. Michigan had for her first settlers a class of peo- 
ple known for their espousal of the principle of public education. 
Many of the framers of the first constitution were students and 
graduates of New England academies and colleges. "Young pro- 
fessional men of good education, allured by tales of healthy breezes 
or attracted by the stir and excitement of western settlement, some- 
times found their way to a cabin in Michigan. . At one time, 

we are told that it seemed as if all New England were on the point 
of moving westward, "t From 1827 onward vigorous efforts were 
made in behalf of popular education. Taxation was provided for 
by. the state. The tax was levied and collected through the ma- 
chinery of the township. In 1853 this tax was two mills on each dol- 
lar of valuation. It must be remembered that at this time there was 
a district tax and that the rate system was still in operation. 

These illustrations suffice to show that at a very early date definite 
efforts were made to disseminate learning through the agency of 
the state. Local taxes had received general authorization. During 
the past fifty years state taxes have been given a more generous 
reception in the sentiment of the states. Extension and enrich- 
ment of courses have called out more and more of state appropria- 
tion and tax. Only four states have no state tax at the present 
time, according to the 1913 report of the United States Commis- 
sioner of education. t 

Local taxes :§ — Under local taxes may be included all taxation not 
provided for through the state directly. Sometimes the tax has 



*Am. J. Educ, Vol. 24, p. 297. 

tU. S. Bureau of Educ, Circ. of Inf., 1891, No. 4, p. 12. 
tSouth Dakota, Idaho, Oklahoma, and Oregon. 

§The various reports of the American Journal of Education have been 
drawn upon liberally for much of the material in this section. 



90 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

been levied by the county, sometimes by the township, and some- 
times by the districts. Not seldom, even in this early period, was 
a combination of these methods used. The district tax was the first 
step removed from the private or philanthropic nlethod of support. 
The need for a more equal distribution of the tax burden has re- 
sulted in extending the boundaries of the taxing unit, so that the 
wealthy may assist the less fortunate.* The next step was the 
township tax. It meant that the people of the township began to 
pool their efforts in behalf of schools. As long as the sentiment of 
the community permitted the assessment of the tax upon the resi- 
dents of a district according to the individual advantages secured 
the inequalities from the standpoint of wealth were not noticed ; but 
when the burden of school support shifted from the shoulders of the 
parents to the school community the inequality became objectiona- 
ble, t 

The first knowledge of this inequality resulted from a compari- 
son of towns in the state with reference to state welfare, particularly 
concerning political and civil organization. When the inequalities 
appeared in these connections, they sooner or later appeared in 
connection with the inequalities of taxation for schools. To remedy 
these conditions larger taxing units were formed. The movement 
toward larger units of organization has been gradual and inevitable. 
The group of select families yielded to the district, the district to 
the town, the town to the county ; and recent tendencies show a 
striking greater dependence upon the state as a taxing unit. The 
order given has not been followed chronologically in the states, 
but in general it characterizes the tendency toward large units. 

The close relation of private support to public support has been 
pointed out. However, it may be added that donations, bequests, 
and endowments have found their way with the local tax into lo- 
cal support funds. The early attitude was to solicit donations as 
well as to be recipient of them. One, Henry Todd, in the State of 
Massachusetts gave $10,000 for a normal school to promote the 
training of teachers. For the instruction of juvenile offenders in 
the same state, Theodore Lyman provided in, part by gratuity. 



"See above, p. 88. 

tS«e Cubberley, School Funds and Their Apportionment, pp. 42-43, for 
illustrations of inequalities in Connecticut. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 91 

Ninety academies, or more, in the State of New York established by 
private enterprise were assimilated into the general system of pub- 
lic schools by the Union Free School Act of 1853. These illustra- 
tions are evidence of co-operation among the agencies of school sup- 
port. It is our purpose to mention a few beginnings in the establish- 
ment of tax funds in the several states, to show the early apprecia- 
tion of the necessity of taxing wealth for the support of education 
for all citizens of the state, and further to point out the expediency 
of providing funds by tax to supplement the efforts of the several 
agencies co-operating in behalf of universal education. 

It has been mentioned repeatedly how the states recapitulated 
the methods of the colonies. Constant reference to colonial history 
is necessary in order to appreciate the efforts in the states. New 
York, in 1812, required local communities to raise by tax as much 
money as they had received from the school funds of the state. At 
first the tax was optional, but it soon became obligatory. In the 
abolition of the rate system in 1849, the district tax was provided 
to take its place. By 1854-1855, the aggregate of $691,687.94 was 
raised by tax for teachers' wages in the cities, villages, and union 
free schools. In 1872 it was reported that a sum approximating 
$7,000,000 was raised by local tax in the state. 

The first provisions in Pennsylvania for taxation in behalf of 
education were made for the education of the poor. In a law 
passed in 1819, it was provided that the poor be assisted in support- 
ing schools b}^ public tax. Maine provided in her constitution, 1820, 
for the support of her schools at the expense of the towns, and en- 
acted a law the following year requiring the raising of forty cents 
for each inhabitant. The tax was raised to fifty cents in 1853. 
The method of collecting the taxes was left to the local communities. 
The town of Newport, Rhode Island, was authorized by the special 
act of 1825 to raise money by tax for the support of free schools, 
and three years later all towns were authorized by state act to raise 
a maximum tax "not exceeding in any one year twice the amount 
received from the State."* Other special acts supplemented these 
so that by 1872 the sum of $309,578 was reported to have been raised 
by the towns and $59,722 by the districts. The amounts raised by 



*Not more than $10,000 in any one year. 



92 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

the towns were voted in each case by the people. 

Massachusetts, from whose history we have drawn so freely, au- 
thorized all towns in 1827 to raise by tax such sums as were con- 
sidered necessary for the support of schools, and in 1836, she re- 
quired the people to raise a sum for teachers equal to one dollar for 
each person of the town between the ages of four and sixteen. This 
requirement was raised, in 1872, to one dollar and fifty cents for 
each person between five and fifteen. In 1865 no towns could receive 
any portion of the annual income of the state school fund unless it 
had raised by taxation a sum equal to three dollars for each person 
in the town between five and fifteen years. 

New Jersey, in 1829, required the raising of a sum for school sup- 
port as a condition of receiving the income from the school fund. 
The sum of $258,158.30 was reported to have been raised by tax as 
early as 1856. 

In Connecticut, at the same time, the organization, of the school 
system centered in School Societies. By the act of 1854 "the tovms 
were required to raise by taxation a sum equal to one cent on. the 
dollar on their grand lists - - for the support of schools and to dis- 
tribute the amount to the several school societies within the towns. ' '* 
Two years later, these societies were abolished and the obligation of 
supporting schools was transferred to the towns. 

According to the constitution of the State of Georgia, 1777, 
schools were to be provided in each county at the general expense 
of the State. One thousand acres of land were given to each county 
for the support of free schools and one thousand pounds for the 
endowment of an academy in each county. These provisions initi- 
ated what is known as the "Poor School System" which took its 
rise in the act of July 31, 1783. t Not until 1870 was there a sys- 
tem of free schools. It w^as incorporated in the constitution that 
the expenses of the system should be met by taxation or otherwise. 

North Carolina, in 1838, passed an act laying off the State into 
school districts, giving counties the privilege of deciding whether 
or not they cared to establish schools. ' ' The act embraced the plan 
of requiring each county to raise one dollar for every two doUars 
distributed by the literary board." By 1841 this act was in full 



*Am. J. Educ, Vol. 24, p. 236. 

tU. S. Bureai^ of Educ, Cire. of Inf., 1888, No. 4, p. 24 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 93 

operation. 

In West Virginia tlie support of schools Avas provided by a capi- 
tation tax of one dollar on each male inhabitant over twenty-one 
years, and b}^ a property tax of ten cents on every one hundred 
dollars of taxable property. 

Louisiana was one of the most aggressive of the Southern States. 
She accumulated a large school fund which was sold at auction in 
the troublous times of war. The annual state appropriation of 
$800 to each parish, or county, was supplemented as early as 1821 
by a voluntary local tax upon the property of the parish. The 
local tax was especially effective in New Orleans. Other South 
Central States followed the method of Louisiana by assuming a 
voluntary tax. Among these Kentucky and Tennessee may be men- 
tioned particularly though in both of these states voluntary sys- 
tems prevented the recognition of public supported education. 

Among the North Central States, local taxes developed earliest; 
however, Michigan and Indiana have emphasized the importance 
of the state tax and have reported proportionally large amounts 
from this source. At the present time less than ten per cent of 
the entire revenues for school maintenance in this section of states 
comes from state taxes, and more that seventy-five per cent comes 
from local taxes. Ohio, in 1837-1838, had a county tax of two mills 
for the support of schools, and had provided for the erection of 
school buildings by district taxation. Though Indiana espoused 
the principle of local taxation early, yet Caleb Mills* was compelled 
to react strenuously against prevalent opposition to local taxation 
in 1856. At this time the assessment was one mill on a dollar of 
property and fifty cents on a poll.t Illinois enacted a local tax in 
1855, Mr. Edwards* reporting in 1854, for ninety-seven counties, 
the receipt of $42,705 from this tax. Minnesota had a township 
tax by constitutional act in 1850. Michigan established a system of 
local taxation which was operating in 1853. 

SUMMARY. 
The history of the beginnings of state systems, and the evolution 
of methods of school support reveal a progressive reconstraction 



'■'Superintendent of Public Instruction. 
tSee Am. J. Educ, Vol. 2, p. 486. 



of the old colonial methods. This reconstruction was determined 
by the appreciation of the growing disparity between public and 
private schools, on the one hand, and by the demand for unanimity 
of action on the new problems of government, of industry, of 
society, and of religion, on the other. 

Certain well defined steps have been pointed out to show how 
gradually the transition has been made from the earliest types of 
private support to the highest forms of tax-supported schools, now 
found in our democratic society. During this transition, permanent 
school funds were developed, the purposes, sources, and factors of 
which, we have shown to have been connected in a vital way with 
the Federal Government in the promotion of state expansion. 

This consciousness of a need of progressive change in methods 
of school support was turned to an evaluation of the medley of 
methods already operating in a more or less hap-hazard manner. 
In this process of evaluation, the semblance of a scientific procedure 
was constructed in which the income of permanent funds, state 
taxes, local taxes, and private benefactions and fees, were recog- 
nized as essential elements. The history of school progress has 
made it clear that among these elements the method of taxation is 
the only dependable and fairly constant element. It is the back- 
bone of school support, since it is the only method that can be de- 
pended upon to promote democracy. The only source of constant 
and consistent increase of school support, and the only way of 
realizing our national ideals is to tax the wealth of the country for 
the support of schools for the children of all the citizens of the 
country. 



A STATISTICAL STUDY 
FOR SPECIFIC PERIODS 

IN THE 

GROWTH AND ANALYSIS 

OF INCOME FUNDS 



"The increased cost of living and the steady increasing number 
and scope of educational activities have rendered it necesary that 
larger expenditures be made for schools than in the past ; it there- 
fore becomes imperative that aU communities in the nation recog- 
nize, as many have already done, that more money must be contrib- 
uted and expended for schools, both locally and by the State, if 
our young people are to have that kind and quality of education 
demanded by the times." — Declaration of the National Education 
Association, San Francisco July, 1911. 



Intkoduction. 

The slow process of collecting statistics concerning the opera- 
tions of state school systems is somewhat tedious and uncertain. 
Since each state has a public school system of its own and is not in 
any way controlled by Federal authority, such reports as are re- 
ceived through the Bureau of Education are wholly voluntary. In 
spite of this evident handicap, the Government has been able to 
do excellent service in the compilation of statistics from these volun- 
tary sources. Though there is sufficient uniformity in the states 
to justify comparison, yet the student must be aware of the strong 
points wherein they differ in order to prevent unwarranted conclu- 
sions. 

In this study the writer is fully conscious of the inadequacy of 
the statistics to reveal exact conditions and facts, since the statis- 
tics are never quite complete and often not entirely correct. How- 
ever, certain definite tendencies in the growth, in the differentia- 
tioUj and in the sources of the support funds can be pointed out 
with reasonable certainty. For the most part the reports of the 
United States Commissioner of Education have been drawn upon 
for the data. These have been supplemented by other reports re- 
ceived directly from state or city superintendents, or from other 
state officers. From the information received directly from states 
and cities it has been possible to check possible errors in the re- 
ports from the Bureau,* thus preventing inaccurate conclusions. 

It is purposed to show from statistics concerning periods as long 
as twenty-two years, the growth and analysis of support funds, 
particularly to show the variety of sources and the relation of these 
sources in producing income, as shown in the receipts for school 
purposes. Various types of funds are considered: those for com- 
mon schools, for secondary schools, for city systems, for normal 
schools, for colleges or universities, and for law, medical or theologi- 
cal schools. 



*No blame attaches to the Commissioner for any discrepancies which may 
appear, since, in addition to possible clerical errors in the office, many reports 
made to the office are hasty and sometimes but crude estimates. 



98 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

Common School Support Funds. 

Prior to 1889 statistics were hardly adequate for the purpose 

of this study. With that year there was the beginning of relative 

completeness in the report of common school funds. State systems 

were fairly under way throughout the country and a real education- 

COMMON SCHOOL SUPPORT FUNDS 

Their Growth and Analysis, 1889-1899 

Table 1 



Year 


Permanent 


State 


Local 


Miscel. 


Total 




Funds 


Funds 


Funds 


Funds 






1 


2 


1 


2 


1 


2 


1 


2 


1 


1889 


9.8 


7.4 


25.2 


19.1 


88.3 


66.8 


8.8 


6.6 


132.1 


1890 


7.8 


5.4 


26.2 


18.2 


97.1 


67.8 


12.0 


8.3 


143.1 


1891 


8.3 


5.6 


27.6 


18.6 


100.4 


67.8 


11.6 


7.8 


147.9 


1892 


8.1 


5.1 


29.7 


18.9 


105.6 


67.3 


13.4 


8.5 


156.8 


1893 


8.7 


5.2 


33.7 


20.4 


108.4 


65.6 


14.2 


8.6 


165.0 


1894 


8.5 


5.0 


33.1 


19.8 


111.3 


66.6 


14.2 


8.5 


167.0 


1895 


8.3 


4.6 


33.3 


18.7 


119.0 


67.0 


17.0 


9.5 


177.6 


1896 


7.6 


4.1 


35.3 


19.4 


123.2 


67.9 


15.2 


8.3 


181.4 


1897 


7.8 


4.1 


35.1 


18.6 


128.0 


67.8 


17.8 


9.0 


188.6 


1898 


9.2 


4.6 


35.6 


17.8 


134.1 


67.2 


20.4 


10.2 


199.3 


1899 


9.0 


4.4 


36.2 


17.7 


143.4 


70.2 


15.4 


7.5 


204.0 


1900 


9.1 


4.1 


37.9 


17.2 


149.5 


68.0 


23.2 


10.5 


219.8 


1901 


9.8 


4.1 


36.3 


15.4 


163.9 


69.6 


25.4 


10.7 


235.3 


1902 


10.0 


4.0 


39.2 


15.9 


173.2 


70.5 


23.1 


9.4 


245.5 


1903 


12.1 


4.8 


40.5 


16.0 


173.7 


69.0 


25.3 


10.0 


251.6 


1904 


10.2 


3.6 


42.6 


15.2 


193.2 


69.2 


33.2 


11.8 


279.1 


1905 


13.2 


4.3 


44.3 


14.6 


210.2 


69.6 


34.1 


11.2 


301.8 


1906 


11.6 


3.6 


47.7 


14.0 


223.5 


69.3 


39.0 


12.4 


322.1 


1907 


25.5 


7.0 


44.7 


12.5 


231.7 


65.2 


53.0 


14.1 


355.0 


1908 


22.4 


5.8 


58.1 


15.2 


259.3 


67.8 


42.1 


11.0 


381.9 


1909 


13.4 


3.3 


63.6 


15.7 


288.6 


71.5 


38.0 


9.4 


403.6 


1910 


14.1 


3.2 


64.6 


14.9 


312.2 


72.1 


42.1 


9.8 


433.0 


1911 


15.0 


3.3 


69.1 


15.3 


333.8 


74.0 


33.1 


7.5 


451.1 


1912 


15.2 


3.2 


75.8 


16.2 


346.9 


73.9 


31.1 


6.6 


469.1 



1. In Millions of dollars. 2, Per cent of total. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 99 

al era was dawning. The uncertainty of the formative period in 
state systems had yielded to an educational propogandum which 
has gained force with the passing of the two decades. The period 
from 1889 to the present time affords a rich field for statistical 
study. Many new movements have arisen during the period, even- 
ing high schools and manual training schools being among the more 
significant. 

If one were to glance at the table on page 98, he would first be 
struck with the relative consistency of each fund for the entire 
period. Further facts concerning these funds are seen in the table. 
Column 1 in each case shows the amounts of money received from 
each source, given in millions of dollars; colunui 2 shows the per 
cent of total receipts each source produced for that year. Owing 
to the rise of the tax sj^stem and the growth of permanent school 
funds among the states, the consistent growth and the relative im- 
portance of the miscellaneous fund is somewhat surprising. It is 
safe to say that since this fund is made up largely from tuition 
fees, since interest on moneys in the bank, receipts from the sales of 
property, or from other sources would never be considerable, as 
the reports seem to bear out. That these four sources increase in 
amount at an approximately even rate, is somewhat suggestive. 

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIES 

Statistics showing receipts for the support of secondary schools is 
still more difficult to secure than for common schools. In many 
cases, the accounts of public high schools are not kept separate from 
the general accounts of public schools, and the accounts of private 
academies are not always available for public report. Not until 
1893, were reliable statistics on the support of secondary schools 
available in such form that comparisons could be made.* 

In Chart I, a comparison is made between public and private 
secondary schools as to the five types of funds, which each receives, 
and also as to proportions of the grand total each receives for sup- 
port. The figures at the bottom show the years covered in the com- 
parison, those at the left side the per cent of the total fund for the 



•■Care should be taken in drawing conclusions from data given, partieularlj 
because the number of schools giving satisfactory reports varies from year 
to year. Only broad generalizations should be made. 



100 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

years covered. The curve is made for the public secondary school, 
the reciprocal being, therefore, for the private secondary school. 
For example, the percentile amount of public appropriation re- 
ceived by public secondary schools is represented by the percentile 
distance of Curve A from 0, and the amount received by private 
secondary schools through the same medium is represented by the 
distance of Curve A from 100. 

The statistics shown in Table 2 reveal a decided tendency toward 
the growth and development of high schools under public control 
and support. The percentile number of public high schools has in- 
creased during twenty-three years from sixty-one to eighty-four per 
cent. The actual number of private schools has increased during the 
period from 1,632 in 1890 to 2,168 in 1913, and the number of pub- 
lic high schools from 2,526 to 11,277 during the same period. The 
private school has been encouraged generously by public appropria- 
tion, and even by a share in the permanent school fund. However, 
the amount of public appropriation for the private high schools or 
academies has increased from $201,000 in 1893 to $212,000 in 1913, 
while the amount of appropriation for public high schools has in- 
creased from $5,924,000 to $20,070,000 during the same period. 

With the income of productive funds there is considerable un- 
certainty. The fund never seems to be constant. The public high 
schools received in 1895 $711,000 from productive funds, though in 
1906 a sum of only $72,000 was reported. The private high schools 
and academies received $1,864,000 from this source in 1895, and $2,- 
055,000 in 1908, though it fell to $706,000 in 1909, when the income 
from productive funds furnished less than four per cent of total 
receipts for secondary schools. In 1913 it came back to an aggre- 
gate of $1,831,000. 

Tuitions and fees have always presented a large aggregate in the 
total receipts for the support of schools. The rate system which was 
in vogue for so long a time yielded slowly to the growing democratic 
sentiment of public supported schools. Though the last half of the 
nineteenth century has been characterized by a generous disposition 
to tax wealth for schools, reference in this connection relates to the 
elementary schools. The rise of the high school, though rapid dur- 
ing the last twenty-five years, has been generously supported by pri- 
vate endeavor, expressed in benefaction and gift or in tuition and 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 



101 



COMPARISON OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOLS 
AS TO PARTICIPATION IN SUPPORT FUNDS 



n 
% 

7JL 



% 

4 




93 H ^i" X ^7 n V '^0 'a '62 '62 'Oj- '^k '67 bl b5 '10 



CHART I. 

A — Public appropriations, B — Grand totals, not including benefactions. 
C — Tuitions and fees. D — Other sources. E — Income from productive funds, 
P — Benefactions . 



102 CO-OPERATIYE METHODS 

fees, A glance at the table will show that even at the present time 
the American public high school is not fully free. 

In 1893 public high schools reported receiving $616,000 from tui- 
tions and fees. In spite of the rapidly growing sentiment in favor 
of publicly supported schools, the amount received from such rates 
amounted to $1,034,000 in 1910 and $1,147,855 in 1913. There was 
an increase of thirty-four schools reporting and a probable increase 
in attendance, which must be considered. It is clear from these fig- 
ures that parents are heavy contributors to pviblic high school sup- 
port through fees and tuitions. This spirit of co-operative endeavor, 
it is our purpose to point out.. It is significant for consideration 
that for the last five or six years the receipts from tuitions and fees 
for public high schools have increased relatively. 

Private high schools and academies have depended considerably 
upon tuition for their support. It has been sho^vn in other connec- 
tions that the principle of supporting schools by rate was an effective 
handicap to the establishment of public schools, and especially to 
their support by taxation. 

For the period from 1893 to 1910 inclusive the amount of almost 
$100,000,000 has been collected for these schools in tuitions and fees 
alone, the maximum amount for any year of the period being 
reached in 1903 when it was $7,512,000, and the minimum amount in 
1909 at $3,000,800. This minimum does not indicate necessarily a 
decline in this aspect of support, for the amount reached $5,249,000 
the following year and was $7,050,561 in 1913. It is clear, however, 
that the fund is not constant. Dependence upon tuitions makes it 
impossible to administer the affairs of a school scientifically. Per- 
manency in plan and support is recognized as essential to economy 
and efficiency. Tuitions and fees as the principal means of support 
do not guarantee this. 

Miscellaneous sources are furnishing a decreasing amount rela- 
tively to the support of schools. It is not easy to analyze these funds 
since they are in many cases placed under this head to relieve clerks 
of detailed analysis. It often happens that items are counted here 
which should be classified under other heads. On the whole, we may 
say that funds coming to the treasurer from any source other than 
from the classified sources would be considered miscellaneous when 
such receipts could be used for support. Fines, licenses, special lo- 



C'OMPARISOX AND ANALYSIS OK IWOIIE FUNDS 

Pi'BLic AND Private High Schools and Academies* 

Table 2 





Actual 


Percentile 








































































Number of 


Number of 




Publ 


lie Appropr 


iations 








Productive '. 


Pun.ls 






Tui 


tion nil 


,1 \\v 








Othe 


r Sour. 


.■es 








BiMtefactioii 


ist 








Totals 






Year 


Schools 


Schools 








_^ 
































































i'ub- 


Pri- 


'Pub- 


Pri- 


' ' Pub- 


Per 


Pri- 


Per 


Total 


Per 


Pub^ 


Per 


Pri- 


Per 


Total 


Per 


Pub- 


Per 


Pri- 


Per 


Total 


I'.-r'" 


Pub- 


Per 


Pri- 


Per 


Total 


Per 


Pub- 


Per 


Pri- 


Per 


Total 


Public 


Per 


Private 


Per 


Orauil 




lic 


vate 


lic 


vate 


lic 


Cent 


vate 


Cen* 




Cent 


lie 


Cent vate 


Cent 




Cent 


lic 


Cent 


vate 


Cent 




Cent 


lic 


Com 


t vnte 


Cent 




Cent 


lic 


Cent 


vate 


Cent 






Cent 




Cent 


Totalt 


istin 


2,526 


1,632 


60.75 


39.25 






































































ISill 


2,771 


1,714 


61.78 


38.22 






































































ISilL' 


:i,o:i5 


1,550 


60.19 


33.81 






































































IHIi:; 


:!,2]8 


1,575 


66.23 


33.77 


5,924 


96.7 


201 


3.3 


6,125 








1..14(i 








i;iii 


11.9 


4,587 


8S.1 


5,203 






























6,334 






1894 


3,984 


1,982 


60.67 


33.33 


8,488 


98.0 


172 


2.0 


8,660 ' 


■ 42.2 














829 


13.1 


5,501 


86.9 


6,330 


.30.3 


2.957 


53.8 


2,531 


46.2 


5,488 


26.3 












12,27-1 


59.9 


S,204 


40.1 


20.478 


imr, 


4,712 


2,180 


68.37 


31.63 


7,720 


98.0 


157 


2.0 


7,877 


34.6 


711 


27.7 


1,864 


72.3 


2,575 


11.3 


1,019 


14.6 


6,002 


85.4 


7,021 


31.2 


4,060 


82.6 


854 


17.4 


4,914 


21.6 






496 




196 


13,509 


60.3 


8,878 


39.7 


22,387 


]ft96 


4,974 


2,106 


70.25 


29.75 


5,313 


95.7 


223 


4.3 


5,536 


31.0 


306 


14.2 


1,864 


85.8 


2,170 


12.2 


808 


12.6 


5,624 


87.4 


6,432 


36.0 


2,647 


74.7 


894 


25.3 


3,541 


19.8 


39 


3.3 


1,122 


96.7 


1,161 


9,074 


61.3 


8,604 


•18.7 


17,078 


1S97 


5,109 


2,100 


70.87 


29.13 


4,162 


95.8 


181 


4.2 


4,343 


28.1 


209 


10.1 


1,866 


89.9 


2,075 


13.7 


500 


8.4 


5,495 


91.6 


5,995 


39.6 


1,479 


57.0 


1,112 


43.0 


2,591 


17.1 


48 


8.0 


628 


91.4 


676 


0,350 


42.3 


8,070 


67.7 


16,026 


189S 


5,315 


1,990 


72.71 


27.24 


4,816 


96.7 


162 


3.3 


4,978 


31.8 


210 


20.1 


839 


79.9 


1,049 


6.9 


553 


8.1 


6,.350 


91.9 


6,903 


44.2 


1,631 


62.5 


977 


37.5 


2,608 


16.7 


51 


3.S 


1.299 


96,2 


1,350 


7,210 


•16.4 


8,330 


63.0 


16,640 


3899 


5,495 


1,957 


73.74 


26.26 


4,701 


96.9 


146 


3.1 


4,847 


31.8 


191 


10.6 


1,654 


89.4 


1,845 


11.9 


514 


9.0 


5,595 


91.0 


6,109 


39.7 


1,363 


56.8 


1,033 


43.2 


2,396 


15.6 


23 


7.5 


1,017 


92.B 


1,640 


0,709 


44.6 


8,429 


66.4 


16,198 


1900 


6,005 


1,978 


75.22 


24.78 


5,545 


97.2 


150 


2.8 


5,701 


34.2 


141 


7.9 


1,661 


92.1 


1,802 


10.8 


538 


8.2 


6,061 


91.8 


6,599 


39.6 


1,337 


52.1 


1,228 


47.9 


2,565 


15.4 


39 


4.1 


914 


0S.9 


953 


7,1501 


46.6 


9,080 


64.6 


16,041 


1901 


6,318 


1,892 


76.95 


23.05 


5,943 


97.7 


137 


2.3 


6,080 


37.0 


168 


10.1 


1,509 


89.9 


1,677 


10.2 


508 


7.8 


6,009 


92.2 


6,517 


39.7 


915 


43.0 


1,213 


57.0 


2,128 


12.9 


37 


2.2 


1,207 


97.8 


1,244 


7,634 


40.0 


8,808 


64.0 


16,403 


1902 


6,292 


1,835 


77.42 


22.58 


5,989 


97.7 


135 


2.3 


6,124 


35.5 


243 


13.2 


1,600 


86.8 


1,843 


10.7 


465 


6.7 


6,554 


93.3 


7,019 


40.7 


886 


40.7 


1,294 


59.3 


2,180 


12.0 


143 


12.9 


981 


87,1 


1,124 


7,684 


44.3 


0,684 


56.,S 


17,168 


1903 


0,800 


1,690 


80.04 


19.96 


6,568 


98.3 


108 


1.7 


6,076 


37.9 


113 


13.4 


653 


86.0 


766 


4.3 


479 


6.0 


7,512 


94.0 


7,991 


45.3 


131 


0.1 


2,023 


93.9 


2,153 


12.0 


183 


13.8 


1,153 


80.2 


1,336 


7,291 


42.6 


10,396 


67.4 


17,680 


1904 


7,230 


1,606 


81.82 


18.18 


8,187 


97.3 


225 


2.7 


8,412 


42.9 


94 


5.5 


1,645 


94.5 


1,739 


9.1 


485 


6.7 


6,731 


93.3 


7,216 


37.7 


121 


7.2 


1,559 


93.8 


1,680 


8.8 


51 


2.8 


1,807 


97.2 


1,858 


8,887 


40.7 


10,100 


63.3 


19,047 


1905 


7,576 


1,627 


82.32 


17.68 


9,128 


97.1 


271 


2.9 


9,400 


44.5 


81 


4.3 


1,847 


95.7 


1,928 


9.1 


489 


6.3 


7,330 


93.7 


7,819 


37.0 


115 


6.0 


1,810 


94.0 


1,925 


9.1 


75 


3.8 


1,907 


96.2 


1,982 


9,814 


40.0 


11,368 


6a..i 


21,073 


190G 


8,031 


1,529 


84.01 


15.99 


9,752 


97.2 


168 


2.8 


9,920 


55.2 


72 


5.0 


1,397 


95.0 


1,469 


8.2 


606 


11.1 


4,862 


88.9 


5,468 


.30.4 


125 


11.7 


944 


88.3 


1,069 


6.9 


79 


4.7 


1,628 


95,3 


1,707 


10,650 


68.8 


7,370 


41,2 


17,930 


1907 


8,804 


1,434 


85.99 


14.01 


8,647 


98.4 


140 


1.6 


8,787 


50.1 


81 


4.0 


1,954 


96.0 


2,035 


11.6 


537 


9.5 


5,168 


90.5 


5,705 


32.5 


128 


13.4 


834 


86.0 


962 


5.5 


723 


21.2 


2,703 


78.S 


3,426 


9,391 


53.0 


8,097 


••0.4 


17,488 


1908 


8,900 


1,320 


87.16 


12.84 


10,855 


99.1 


96 


0.9 


10,951 


60.8 


146 


0.7 


2,055 


93.3 


2,201 


12.2 


689 


16.9 


3,391 


83.1 


4,080 


22.7 


129 


17.7 


601 


82.3 


730 


4.0 






1,697 




1,697 


11,819 


66.8 


0,143 


3.I.2 


17,901 


1900 


9,317 


1,301 


87.75 


12.25 


18.105 


99.3 


110 


0.7 


18,215 


75.0 


147 


17.3 


706 


82.7 


853 


3.5 


1,024 


25.4 


3,008 


74.6 


4,032 


16.1 


244 


20.8 


830 


79.2 


1,171 


4.8 






915 




945 


19,519 


80.4 


4,733 


19.0 


24,262 


1910 


10,213 


1,781 


85.15 


14.85 


15,879 


99.3 


104 


0.7 


15,983 


64.6 


120 


13.3 


789 


86.7 


909 


3.7 


1,034 


16.5 


5,24!i 


83.5 


6,283 


25.4 


241 


15.5 


1,319 


84.5 


1,500 


0.3 






1,178 




1,178 


17,276 


09.8 


7,461 


30.3 


24,737 


1911 


10,334 


1,979 


83.80 


16.20 


18,332 


99.3 


134 


0.7 


18,466 


64.0 


93 


8.2 


1,038 


91.8 


1,131 


3.9 


1,105 


15.6 


5,976 


84.4 


7,081 


24.5 


211 


9.8 


1,952 


90.2 


2,103 


7.5 






910 




916 


19,741 


08.4 


9,100 


31.6 


38,841 


1912 


11,224 


2,044 


84.59 


15.41 


19,857 


99.3 


141 


0.7 


19,998 


63 1 


94 


7.5 


1,163 


92.5 


1,257 


4.0 


1,157 


14.6 


6,777 


85.4 


7,934 


25.0 


164 


6.0 


2,335 


93.4 


2,499 


7.8 






1,262 




1,262 


21,272 


67.1 


10,410 


33.9 


31,088 


19];t 


11,277 


2,168 


83.87 


16.13 


20,070 


98.9 


213 


1.1 


20,282 


61.6 


96 


.5.0 


1,831 


95.0 


1,927 


5.8 


1,148 


14.0 


7,050 


86.0 


8,198 


24.,S 


139 


5.9 


2,390 


94.1 


2,529 


8,0 






6.17 




657 


21,463 


06.1 


11,483 


34,9 


33,930 



• Amounts of money given in thousands of dollars, 
t None reported for public high schools after 1907. 
t Exclusive of lienofactinns. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 103 

cal taxes, as the dog tax, have furnished a considerable sum which 
has been devoted to school support in many states. Rents on school 
property, or interest on moneys in the bank, sales of property, the 
amounts of which w^ere turned to support funds, profits on sales of 
books or laboratory supplies, and so forth, have often been classified 
as miscellaneous. The accuracy of modern business methods has 
been the most effective means, perhaps, of reducing this amount to 
the minimum of four per cent of total receipts in 1908. Another 
fact to be noted as a result of our changed thought of school sup- 
port is the tendency to eliminate fines, licenses, special taxes, such as 
the dog tax, and other unclassified items from support funds. In 
this connection^ the table shows that public high schools illustrate 
the spasmodic and temporary character of this type of support, 
"With private high schools is seems a little more consistent. 

Concerning the function of benefactions, little need be said. The 
benefaction has been and is the source for the development of pro- 
ductive funds which are the basis of a scientific method of support 
in private schools. The rise of public free high schools makes tui- 
tions unpopular, so that the income of productive funds and of 
scholarship funds becomes the principal portion of support funds of 
private schools. The increase of these funds must come by benefac- 
tion as history has pointed out. Benefactions serve two purposes in 
support, expediency and permanency. Productive funds are con- 
sidered temporary and permanent according to the type of benefac- 
tion received. If a deficiency occurs in the support fund of the 
school benefactions are solicited to assist the school to complete the 
year's work. This deficit may be anticipated and thus provided for 
by annual or temporary endowment. Sometimes, from a decreased 
enrollment or a failure in productive funds* an emergency sub- 
scription is taken. This procedure is illustrated in many public 
high schools, in addition to being a usual procedure in private 
schools. In the states of the South, benefaction or subscription has 
oftentimes been the only means of securing a standard length of 
school term. 

On the other hand, the benefaction adds an increment to the pro- 
ductive funds, only the income of which is used for support. This 



*The income from productive funds has never constant. Sometimes funds 
have been mismanaged or lost. 



104 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

is considered a permanent benefaction. Historically the importance 
of the benefaction of this type is fully appreciated, even though it is 
often spoken of as " foolish philanthropy. " It is true that a strictly 
scientific procedure in financing public school systems will depend 
little if any upon the benefactions ; but with the private school much 
dependence must be placed upon such funds if the private school is 
to continue. That the public high school is assuming a large part of 
the functions formerly performed by private academies no one ques- 
tions ; but that the private academy has fully served its day many do 
question. However, as long as the private school has a function to 
perform voluntary endeavor in some form or other is the only source 
of support. 

PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT IN TYPE CITIES 
In order to illustrate the growth of school support in certain cities 
located throughout the country twenty-six cities were studied. The 
reports of the United States Commissioner of Education were con- 
sulted for each city covering a period of twenty-two years. These 
statistics were supplemented by reports of city superintendents or 
school clerks. It was the purpose to get statistics as complete as pos- 
ible, for all the cities from 1889 to 1910 inclusive. Of the twenty-six 
cities studied, twenty are presented in Charts II, III and IV. The 
figures at the bottom show the years ; those at the left, the amounts 
of money in thousands of dollars received for public school support. 
The purpose has not been to make a comparison of cities but rath- 
er to present these cities as types for various sections of the country, 
for various sized cities, and for various rates of growth. Statistics 
for the following twenty cities are sufficiently reliable and complete 
to warrant some comparisons. 

It is clear that the funds for the support of schools in these cities 
have increased exceedingly, particularly during the last ten years. 
The rapid rise during the past ten years is in part offset by the rapid 
increase in population. However, this will not account for the rapid 
rise of the curves for this decade. Milwaukee, for example, in- 
creased her population by 52,000 from 1900 to 1910, and her support 
funds by $1,142,000 for the same period, thereby raising the per 
capita support funds for total population from $2.42 in 1900 to 
$4.90 in 1910. This shows that there has been a definite enrichment 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 



105 





Table 3 






Name of City 


See Chart 




Population 






Number 


1890 


1900 


1910 


Baltimore, Md. 


III. 


434,439 


508,957 


558,485 


Birmingham, Ala. 


IV. 


26,188 


38,415 


132,685 


Charleston, S. C. 


IV. 


54,955 


55,807 


58,833 


Columbus, 0. 


IV. 


88,150 


125,560 


181,511 


Detroit, Mich. 


III. 


205,876 


285,704 


465,766 


Duluth, Minn. 


II. 


33,115 


52,969 


78,466 


Freeport, 111. 


IV. 


10,189 


13,258 


17,374 


Indianapolis, Ind. 


II. 


105,436 


169,164 


233,650 


Kansas City, Mo. 


11. 


132,716 


163,752 


248,381 


Knoxville, Tenn. 


II. 


22,535 


32,637 


36,346 


Louisville, Ky. 


III. 


161,129 


204,731 


223,928 


Milwaukee, Wis. 


II. 


204,468 


285,315 


373,857 


New Orleans, La. 


IV. 


242,039 


287,104 


339,075 


Oakland, Cal. 


IV. 


48,682 


66,960 


150,174 


Pittsburg, Pa. 


III. 


238,617 


321,616 


533,905 


Rochester, N. Y. 


III. 


133,896 


162,608 


218,149 


Sioux City, la. 


II. 


37,806 


33,111 


47,828 


Tacoma, Wash. 


IV. 


36,006 


37,714 


83,411 


Wichita, Kan. 


IV. 


23,853 


24,671 


52,450 


Wilmington, Del. 


IV. 


61,431 


76,508 


87,411 



of the school courses and likewise an extension of the system. 

Birmingham presents an enormous increase in population. In 
1900, the population was 38,415 ; in 1910, 132,685, a gain of prac- 
tically 200 per cent. For the same period, there was a gain of $250,- 
000 in support funds, practically 500 per cent. The per capita 
amount of receipts, in 1900, was approximately $1.38; in 1910, it 
was $1.90. Considering the adjustment the city had to make to ac- 
commodate the vast increase in population, the case presents strik- 
ing evidence of growth in amount of support funds. Similar results 
would be found in the case of the other cities named . 

Charts II, III and IV sho\^ the enormous annual increase of sup- 
port funds for twenty cities, particularly is this increase noted for 
the last ten years represented in the curves. In checking over the 
receipts for school purposes in these cities for the last three years 



TYPE CITIES 




|1)l«ft*.kec 



Ktwvkt CiV| 



Xn4iftn«^«l!( 



B«l«it(» 



Si"«ii.». c«t^ 



Kn»<yil\e. 



« 1 

CHART II. 



»*»«*« 



** — Data incomplete. 



TYPE CITIES 



BHrt»*»^. 







WT^Vjils H Hh V )l V'^ t/ vX 'oz uf tsi WST VJ W 70 



CHART III. 



108 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

one observes the tendency to put more and more money into the pub- 
lic schools. Milwaukee, Kansas City, Indianapolis and Baltimore 
seem to have made the most striking advance in amount of school 
revenue. With very few exceptions, possibly Taeoma, Duluth and 
Oakland, there has been a relatively large increment of annual in- 
crease of receipts for schools. Kansas City seems to have added 
$100,000 annually for the past four years. For 1911, Pittsburg re- 
ceived practically $7,000,000 for her public school system. To show 
that city systems are expending enormous sums for public educa- 
tion, one needs only to check a few cities. For 1913 Chicago re- 
ceived over $15,000,000 ; New York, about $35,000,000 ; Cleveland, 
about $4,000,000 : and Philadelphia, $8,000,000. 

In order to discover the sources of the school funds in these twen- 
ty-six cities, each city was studied carefully for a period of twenty- 
two years with this purpose in view. In general for this purpose 
three sources were studied, state, local and miscellaneous. Under 
state source would occur the share of the income of the permanent 
school fund where such funds exist and moneys secured by state ap- 
propriation or tax. All moneys raised by local taxing units, county, 
township or district, would form the greater part of local funds. 
All other funds M'^hich are more or less varied and inconstant are 
classed as miscellaneous. It may be stated at the outset that with 
few exceptions miscellaneous funds are relatively insignificant as 
support funds, probably less than four per cent for all the cities 
for the entire period. Exception would have to be made perhaps 
for certain years in certain cities when an unusually large aggregate 
of miscellaneous funds appeared in the items of support from the 
sale of old buildings, or from the proceeds of insurance adjustments, 
or from other like sources. 

With only two exceptions* in sixteen cities t where statistics are 
complete the curve showing the relative amount of local funds in the 
aggregate of support funds indicates a gradually increasing per- 
centile amount raised locally. This in itself vs^ould not be so signifi- 
cant were it not for the fact that during this twenty-two years the 



^Detroit and Louisville. 

tWichita, Sioux City, Duluth, New London, Eochester, Oakland, New Or- 
leans, Kansas City, Wilmington, Taeoma, Milwaukee, Pittsburg, Baltimore, 
Detroit, Indianapolis, Louisville. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 



109 



TYPE CITIES 



7C6 

CoC 
las 



V 




ff ? J^ ?/ ^2. JS "P^ jr ?<> 77 ^8 f? 'OD '6/ 'C2 '03 '^f 'a5 OC '67 *Ci ^? '/» 







5 % ?/ n n H Jf K 97 ?s 9^ 'c^ 'Of 'oj '03 Vf '<?r 'a v r 'st v? '/q 



CHART IV. 



110 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

income of permanent funds had increased from less than $8,000,000 
to over $15,000,000, and for the further fact that state support from 
appropriation and tax had leaped from $25,000,000 in 1889 to near- 
ly $76,000,000 in 1912. The argument that state assistance stimu- 
lates local effort seems proved completely as far as these cities are 
concerned. 

"With the exception of one year, Baltimore raised more than sev- 
enty-five per cent of her school moneys locally, and for the last 
years has reached ninety-five per cent. Kansas City has raised 
eighty per cent on the average by local means for over twenty years. 
Other cities doing practically as well are Wilmington, New Orleans, 
Rochester, Duluth, New London, Wichita and Sioux City. Detroit, 
from 1898 to 1908, secured less and less from local funds, but from 
that date the curve has risen sharply. Louisville only twice during 
the period seems to have raised more than seventy-five per cent by 
local means. Her average for the period is about sixty-five per cent. 
State and local funds shared about equally in Oakland up to about 
1900 when the curve rose in favor of local support. By 1908, about 
seventy per cent was raised locally. In general it may be said in so 
far as these cities are typical, that the local source of support more 
than keeps pace with the rapid advance now being made in school 
support through state initiative. 

The cities studied are located in various states and sections of 
the country, and on that account it would be flagrant error to con- 
clude that one city has done well and another not so well on the 
basis of amount spent for education. The factors determining a 
proper relative amount from local or state source vary with states 
considered. The comparison of tax rates in these cities would 
reveal very likely some striking inequalities in the apportionment 
and distribution of tax money. There would be further interest- 
ing differences in standards and in school property evaluations, 

Butterworth in his study* has demonstrated some of these ine- 
qualities. For example, in the fifteen towns located in Barnstable 
and Berkshire counties, in the State of Massachusetts, where the law 
required all towns of five hundred families to maintain high schools 
without special aid, twelve of these are reported as having a higher 



^Butterworth, Methods of Financing Secondarj' Education in the United 
States. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 111 

local rate than the average for the State and only three are reported 
as having a lower rate. The average for the State was $4.23 on the 
$1,000 for schools and the range for these fifteen towns ran from 
$7.69 in Provincetown to $2.86 in Falmouth. There was an average 
deviation from this average in the twelve towns having higher tax 
rates of $1.49 and in the three towns having lower rates, an average 
deviation of $1.07. Our purpose in citing this illustration here is 
to show how any amount of money spent for schools has wider im- 
plications than the aggregate itself would at first suggest. 

Another problem suggested by our study of the twenty-six 
cities is that of the rapid accumulation of taxable wealth in these 
urban centers. It has been discovered that the rise of values and 
the accumulation of wealth depends directly upon the promotion 
of learning and culture Avhich demands increased tax burdens for 
our public schools. We have looked upon education very frequently 
as having to do primarily with principles of culture and citizen- 
ship. In the last analysis this interpretation will probably be cor- 
rect, but culture and citizenship will not be divorced from the 
development of ability to promote the material welfare of the 
nation, since in a democracy education in the long run must pay 
for itself in promoting the material progress of the nation and at 
the same time leave a residuum of wealth for promoting appre- 
ciably the ideals of culture and citizenship. 

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE NORMAL SCHOOLS 

All states by means of public tax provide for the training of 
teachers in public institutions. The increase of normal school at- 
tendance and the enlargement of public appropriations for normal 
schools are evidence of the recognized value ascribed by the public 
mind to this type of training. For the period from 1890 to 1909, at- 
tendance upon normal schools, whether public or private ,increased 
from 34,814 to 82,288 students. In addition almost 100,000 students 
w^ere registered in teacher's training courses in colleges, universi- 
ties, high schools and academies.* 

Chart V presents for normal schools the same as Chart I for sec- 
ondary schools. The point is to show how public and private nor- 
mals participated in the funds which made up the total support, and 



*Eeport of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1909, Vol. II, pp. 1079-1080. 



112 



CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 



COMPARISON OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE NORMAL 

SCHOOLS 

PARTICIPATION IN SUPPORT FUNDS 




CHART V. 

A — Appropriations. B — Income from productive funds. C — Tuitions ajid 
fees. D — Other sources. E — Total. 



COMPARISON AND ANALYSTS OP INCOi\IE FUNDS 

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE NORMAL SCHOOLS* 

Table 4 





Appropriations ; 


: State or City 




Pro 


ifluctivo Pu 


nds 






Tuitions 


and 


Fees 








Other 


' Sour( 


:es 






Totals 






Year 


Pub- 


Per 


Pri- 


Per 


To- 


Per- 


Pub- 


Per 


Pri- 


Per 


Total 


Per 


Pub- 


Per 


Pri- 


Per 


Total 


Per 


Pub- 


Per 


Pri- 


Per 


Total 


~Ver 


Pub- 


Per 


Pri- 


Per 


Grand 




lic 


Cent 


vate 


Cent tal 


cent 


lic 


: Cent 


vate 


1 Cent 




Cent lie 


Cent 


vate 


Cent 




Cent 


Uc 


Cent 


vate 


Cent 




Cent 


lic 


Cent 


vate 


Cent 


Total 


1893 


2,270 


97.7 


51 


2.3 ' ' 


2,321 


73.6 














372 


73.3 


134 


26.7 


506 


16.6 


154 


50.4 


151 


49.6 


305 


9.6 


2,796 


89.2 


327 


10.8 


3,132 


1894 


1,996 


98.7 


25 


1.3 


2,021 


55.9 


40 


34.5 


76 


65.5 


116 


3.2 


393 


41.1 


565 


58.9 


958 


26.5 


334 


65.7 


174 


34.3 


508 


14.1 


2,764 


76.7 


839 


23.8 


3,603 


1895 


1,917 


97.6 


57 


2.4 


1,974 


51.2 


59 


59.5 


40 


40.5 


99 


2.6 


371 


39.2 


627 


60.8 


998 


26.0 . 


362 


48.4 


386 


51.6 


748 


19.5 


2,709 


70.9 


1,111 


29.1 


3,819 


1896 


2,188 


99.1 


19 


.9 


2,207 


56.0 


69 


50.0 


69 


50.0 


138 


3.5 


499 


49.3 


515 


50.7 


1,014 


25.7 


206 


36.1 


366 


63.9 


572 


14.5 


2,962 


72.8 


969 


27.2 


3,931 


1897 


2,426 


98.0 


49 


2.0 


2,475 


57.6 


78 


60.4 


51 


39.6 


129 


3.0 


466 


42.5 


632 


57.5 


1,098 


25.6 


295 


50.0 


294 


50.0 


589 


13.7 


3,265 


76.0 


1,026 


24.0 


4,291 


1898 


2,566 


99.2 


20 


.8 


2,586 


59.5 


58 


59.7 


39 


40.3 


97 


2.2 


515 


44.3 


648 


55.7 


1,163 


26.7 


307 


61.5 


192 


38.5 


499 


11.5 


3,446 


79.3 


899 


20.7 


4,345 


1S99 


2,510 


99.0 


25 


1.0 


2,535 


57.5 


68 


58.6 


48 


41.4 


116 


2.6 


499 


45.9 


590 


54.1 


1,089 


24.7 


407 


61.2 


258 


38.8 


665 


15.0 


3,484 


79.0 


921 


21,0 


4,405 


1900 


2,769 


99.3 


17 


,7 


2,786 


61.5 


69 


51.8 


64 


48.2 


133 


2.9 


550 


46.5 


473 


53.5 


1,023 


22.6 


361 


62.3 


215 


37.7 


576 


12.7 


3,750 


83.0 


768 


17.0 


4,518 


1901 


3,068 


99.4 


18 


.6 


3,086 


63.6 


80 


59.1 


55 


40.9 


135 


2.8 


450 


48.7 


475 


51.3 


925 


19.0 


416 


59.2 


287 


41.8 


703 


14.5 


4,015 


82.8 


836 


17.2 


4,849 


1902 


3,228 


99.3 


20 


.7 


3,248 


66.9 


100 


71.4 


40 


28.6 


140 


2.9 


282 


40.1 


422 


59.9 


704 


14.5 


375 


49.3 


386 


50.7 


761 


15.7 


3,986 


82.1 


869 


17.9 


4,853 


1903 


3,582 


99.4 


21 


.6 


3,603 


66.6 


89 


60.1 


59 


39.9 


148 


2.7 


566 


59.9 


378 


40.1 


944 


17.2 


335 


48.3 


359 


51.7 


694 


12.6 


4,573 


83.2 


816 


16.8 


5,489 


lii04 


3,928 


99.5 


18 


.5 


3,946 


64.7 


111 


62.1 


66 


37.9 


177 


2.9 


672 


53.8 


576 


46.2 


1,248 


20.5 


267 


43.7 


344 


56.3 


611 


10.0 


4,979 


81.8 


1,005 


18.2 


6,082 


1905 


4,132 


99.5 


18 


.5 


4,150 


65.9 


111 


57.5 


82 


42.5 


193 


3.1 


631 


50.4 


620 


49.6 


1,251 


19.9 


363 


53.1 


320 


46.9 


683 


10.8 


5,237 


83.4 


1,040 


16.6 


6,277 


1P06 


4,643 


99.5 


23 


.5 


4,666 


69.0 


143 


70.7 


59 


29.3 


202 


2.9 


632 


45.6 


755 


54.4 


1,387 


20.5 


341 


69.1 


152 


30.9 


493 


7.2 


5,759 


85.3 


990 


14.7 


6,748 


1907 


6,272 


99.8 


11 


.2 


6,283 


69.1 


168 


57.9 


122 


42.1 


290 


3.1 


1,308 


64.3 


725 


35.7 


2,033 


22.3 


293 


69.4 


129 


30.6 


422 


4.6 


8,042 


89.0 


986 


11.0 


9,028 


1908 


8,049 


99.7 


19 


.3 


8,068 


75.8 


231 


61.4 


145 


38.6 


376 


3.5 


1,202 


66.1 


617 


33.9 


1,819 


17.1 


182 


60.0 


121 


40.0 


303 


2.8 


9,564 


94.4 


560 


5.6 


10,566 


1909 


9,043 


99.8 


21 


.2 


9,064 


72.5 


131 


50.0 


131 


50.0 


262 


2.1 


1,899 


75.8 


603 


24.2 


2,502 


20.0 


369 


60.8 


237 


39.2 


606 


4.8 


11,443 


92.1 


993 


7.9 


12,436 


1910 


9,266 


99.5 


45 


.5 


9,311 


69.8 


153 


49.9 


154 


50.1 


307 


2.3 


2,052 


71.4 


821 


28.6 


2,873 


21.5 


415 


57.3 


307 


42.7 


722 


5.4 


11,887 


89.8 


1,327 


10.0 


13,214 



^Amounts given in thouaands of dollars; per cents show comparisons of public and private funds respectively, except columns following totals, which* 
are percentages of the aggregate totals; e. g., 1893 the public normal received 97.7 per cent of public appropriations, the private, 2.3 per cent, and 
appropriations furnished 73.6 per cent of all support funds. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 113 

also to show the relative amounts received by each class of normals. 
Public normal schools have received practically all of the public 
appropriations, though on income from productive funds, tuitions, 
and other sources, there is striking equality in the participation. 
Of all funds received for the support of these schools, the public 
normal has received eighty-two per cent, illustrated by years in 
Curve E.* 

A glance at Table 4 shows the relation of the various funds in 
normal school support to each other without reference to the class 
of normal. It is strikingly apparent that the normal school is sup- 
ported by public taxation for the most part and but incidentally by 
the income from productive funds. For seventeen years public ap- 
propriation has furnished seventy-four per cent of the funds. How- 
ever, tuitions and fees furnish about twenty-three per cent of all re- 
ceipts. The normal school is distinctly an expression of public sen- 
timent in favor of the training of teachers at public expense. For 
twelve years there has been an increase of thirty-three public nor- 
mal schools reporting and a decrease of sixty-three private normal 
schools. This shows to some degree the attitude of the public to- 
ward training schools for teachers. 

The rapid increase of public appropriation for normal schools is 
another important fact to be noted. In 1893 the amount received 
from public — state or city — appropriation was $2,270,000 and in 
1910 it was $9,266,000. The annual increases were consistent and 
adequate, the amount of the increase being due in part to extensive 
improvements in buildings and equipments, v/hich were made. Like 
all movements which meet a fully appreciated need, the demand for 
buildings and equipment became vital. Of the nine millions of dol- 
lars received for the establishment and maintenance of normal 
schools in 1910, fully one-third was spent for buildings. 

The public through state and city appropriation has paid sixty- 
eight per cent of all support funds in both public and private nor- 
mal schools. Over sixty-seven of the sixty-eight per cent has been 
appropriated to public normal schools. This seems to show that 



^Percentile distance from base line to curves suggests the share of fund 
received by public normals; the reciprocal curve, the private normal. See 
page 100. 



114 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

public sentiment is decidedly in favor of taxing wealth for the sup- 
port of training schools for the teachers of the public schools. This 
point is further strengthened in the fact already mentioned, that 
there is an annual decrease in the number of private normal schools 
operating. 

The public normal school does not compare so favorably with the 
private normal, as indicated in the table, on receipts from product- 
ive funds, but productive funds have been insignificant in the es- 
tablishment and development of normal schools. However, the pub- 
lic normal has had a consistent growth in support funds from this 
source for the past sixteen or seventeen years. The average annual 
increase from productive funds for public normals is approximately 
$3,000 ; for private normals, it is about $5,000. It must be remem- 
bered that for this period productive funds furnished only three 
per cent of total income for all normal schools. 

The normal school, whether public or private, has depended con- 
siderably upon tuition to supplement the other support funds. The 
decided annual increase in the tuitions for public normals may be 
explained in part by the consistent increase in attendance. For the 
period covered the private normal has simply held her own in at- 
tendance, though she has almost doubled tuition funds in sixteen 
years. 

The miscellaneous sources are not constant and as in other types of 
institutions are relatively unreliable for purposes of conclusion. 
One would hardly expect any consistency in them, though we note 
that for several years they present a relatively large per cent of the 
totals. With a consistent growth of the aggregate annual total of 
support funds, there has been a striking growth in public appropria- 
tions and in tuition funds. Especially noticeable is the striking in- 
crease of support funds for the years, 1907 to 1910 inclusive, 

UNIVERSITIES, COLLEGES AND TECHNOLOGICAL 

SCHOOLS 
A study of statistics for universities, colleges and technological 
schools reveals some new funds and some new relations. The atti- 
tude of society toward this type of institution differs from the atti- 
tude toward the public school and the normal school. The schools 
under consideration have not been thought of as local institutions. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 115 

They sei've a larger constituency, and in a sense a special class. It 
is remembered how the people of Rhode Island in the early days of 
her history were inclined to leave elementary education to domestic 
concern, but were not only willing but anxious to assist poor stud- 
ents in Harvard College who were struggling to educate themselves. 
They did this for the sake of leadership. In supporting this type of 
institution, the idea of effective leadership was no doubt funda- 
mental. The common schools, including the high schools, seek to 
produce a certain minimum of efficiency in the pupils, which mini- 
mum is recognized as essential to individual and social welfare ; the 
university, college or technological school aims at specialization and 
a culture of a higher order, which will serve the state through effect- 
ive leadership. 

The greatest co-operation is illustrated in the efforts for the sup- 
port of this type of institution, as Table 5 shows. The co-operative 
effort of these agencies have produced a long list of magnificent in- 
stitutions. Reference to Chart VI shows how these various funds 
have co-operated, also how little each fund has varied from a com- 
mon average. The United States Government has contributed to the 
support by land grants. The states have assumed an increasing ob- 
ligation toward this type of institution, as is indicated in Curve A. 
Productive funds have participated to an appreciable extent in 
their support, but the cuiwe is declining. The amounts received 
from tuition fees have held a rather constant ratio for eighteen 
years, though in aggregate amounts tuition fees have more than 
quadrupled, as Table 5 reveals. This type of institution, at least 
outside of state universities, must depend upon tuition fees to pay 
a considerable part of the moneys needed for the operation of the in- 
stitutions. Curve A as pointed out presents the tendency toward 
public support. Benefactions have formed a generous portion of 
support funds of such institutions especially of colleges; however, 
the increase in state appropriations and the rise of state institutions, 
in addition to other causes, have brought about a rather constant de- 
cline in this type of support. Such benefactions as are given are 
more likely to find their way into the productive funds than into the 
general support funds. 

In Table 5, these tendencies are worked out in detail. Column 1 
shows amounts received from each source, given in millions of dol- 



116 



CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 



lars. Column 2 indicates the percentile relation of the fund to the 
total receipts. During the eighteen years considered, the amounts 
granted by the United States Government have increased eight-fold, 
due largely to the increase of income from Government grants. For 
the same period the appropriations by the states have increased 
nine-fold; the income from productive funds has increased almost 
three-fold ; tuitions and fees, four-fold ; private benefactions, three- 
fold ; other sources, four-fold ; and total, four-fold. The rise of state 
universities will continue to call out greater proportions from state 



INCOME COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND 
MECHANIC ARTS 




CHART VI. 

A — Appropriations. B — Benefactions. P — Income from productive funds. 

T — Tuitions and fees. U. S. — United States Goverrnment. M — Miscellaneous 
sources. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 117 

UNIVERSITIES, COLLEGES, AND TECHNICAL SCHOOLS* 
INCOME FUNDS 

Table 5 



Year 


U. S 
Govern- 
ment 


State 
Appropri 
ations 


Pro- 
ductive 
Funds 


Tuitions 
and 

Fees 


Private 
Benefac- 
tions 3 


From 

Other 

Sources 


Total 




1 


2 


1 


2 


1 


2 


1 


2 


1 


2 


1 


2 


1 


1892 


0.6 


2.9 


2.3 


11.1 


4.9 


23.7 


4.8 


23.2 


6.5 


31.4 


1.5 


7.2 


20.7 


1893 


0.7 


3.3 


1.7 


8.5 


5.1 


24.2 


5.4 


25.6 


6.5 


.30.8 


1.4 


6.6 


21.1 


1894 


0.5 


2.0 


2.1 


8.6 


5.3 


21.7 


5.9 


24.2 


9.0 


36.9 


1.6 


6.6 


24.4 


1895 


0.7 


3.2 


2.3 


10.4 


5.3 


24.0 


6.3 


28.5 


5.4 


24.4 


2.2 


9.9 


22.1 


1896 


0.9 


3.4 


2.8 


10.6 


5.2 


19.7 


6.7 


25.4 


8.3 


31.5 


2.3 


8.7 


26.3 


1897 


0.8 


2.9 


2.8 


10.3 


5.4 


19.9 


7.1 


26.2 


7.6 


28.1 


2.9 


10.7 


26.6 


1898 


0.9 


3.3 


3.3 


12.2 


5.7 


21.0 


7.1 


26.2 


7.5 


27.7 


2.2 


8.1 


26.7 


1899 


3.3 


6.6 


4.3 


8.6 


6.7 


13.4 


10.9 


21.8 


21.9 


43.8 


2.6 


5.2 


49.7 


1900 


0.9 


2.7 


3.4 


10.5 


6.1 


18.9 


8.4 


26.0 


10.8 


.33.4 


2.0 


6.2 


31.7 


1901 


1.0 


2.5 


4.1 


10.2 


6.4 


16.0 


8.8 


22.0 


17.0 


42.5 


2.5 


6.2 


39.8 


1902 


1.0 


2.5 


5.1 


12.7 


7.3 


18.2 


9.3 


23.2 


14.8 


37.0 


2.4 


6.0 


40,0 


1903 


1.0 


2.4 


6.2 


14.8 


7.8 


18.7 


9.8 


23.5 


12.7 


.30.4 


3.0 


7.2 


40.5 


1904 


1.1 


2.6 


7.0 


15.8 


8.1 


19.4 


11.3 


24.7 


12.3 


29.5 


2.8 


6.7 


41.6 


1905 


1.0 


2.1 


7.5 


15.7 


8.6 


18.0 


10.9 


23.7 


15.0 


31.5 


2.7 


5.6 


45.7 


1906 


2.6 


4.4 


11.6 


19.7 


9.7 


16.4 


13.3 


22.6 


16.8 


28.5 


3.5 


5.9 


57.6 


1907 


2.7 


3.8 


12.1 


16.9 


9.8 


14.7 


17.0 


23.8 


22.0 


31.8 


4.6 


6.4 


68.1 


1808 


4.0 


6.6 


15.5 


23.0 


10.5 


15.6 


17.2 


25.6 


14.2 


20.1 


4.8 


7.1 


66.8 


1909 


4.3 


5.5 


16.5 


21.4 


1Q.9 


14,1 


19.2 


24.9 


16.7 


21.7 


9.1 


11.8 


76.7 


1910 


4.6 


5.5 


19.7 


23.6 


11.6 


14.2 


19.2 


23.6 


18.7 


22.4 


6.6 


8.1 


80.4 



1. In millions of dollars. 2. Per cent of total for the year. 3. Includes 
funds for Increase of plant, for endowment and for current expenses. 



appropriations. The large increase from this source has taken place 
since 1905.* 



"A radical change in tabulation introduced in the report of 1910-11 makes 
it undesirable to bring the comparison in table 5 further than the year 1910 
on the basis suggested by the form here used. 



118 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

COLLEGES OF AGRICULTURE AND MECHANIC ARTS 

Mention has been made of the establishment of colleges of agricul- 
ture and mechanic arts.* These institutions were founded in most 
states in order to meet the conditions imposed in the act of 1862.* 
This type of institution has always ben popular for obvious reasons, 
the act of 1862 having been passed on account of the persistency of 
favorable public opinion. Since the support of these institutions de- 
pended upon the Federal grants of land and state appropriations, a 
slow co-operative effort manifested itself in the early history of the 
movement. Considering the progress of the nation, the support 
fund became inadequate for the proper development of this type 
of institution. Congress provided for more adequate support in 
1890. t 

According to the Report of the United States Commissioner of 
Education, the receipts for the maintenance of colleges of agricul- 
ture and mechanic arts were not classified according to sources 
prior to 1894, and even then not fully. The relation of sources is 
shown in Chart VII, beginning with the year 1895, though no com- 
parison has been illustrated in the chart for the years 1896 to 1900, 
inclusive, because of incomplete classification. Table 6 furnishes 
explanation for this incompleteness in the curves. For the period 
from 1896 to 1900, inclusive, benefactions, income from some pro- 
ductive funds, and miscellaneous receipts, seems to have been classi- 
fied under tuitions and fees. The report of Federal aid for 1896 
does not include support of schools for the colored, and the reports 
for 1906 and 1907 do not include receipts for the agricultural col- 
lege of North Carolina. 

Again, we have illustrated the growing importance of the state in 
assuming the obligation of support. It is true that the Federal 
Government has been very generous toward agricultural colleges. 
The income from this source has doubled since 1894 owing to the in- 
crease of returns from the original grants and the continuing appro- 
priation of 1890. t During the same period the appropriations from 
state source have increased six-fold. Income from other sources has 
been practically stationary. The Federal Government in 1895 fur- 



*See above, pp. 37-39. 
tSee above, pp. 46-48. 
1:See above, p. 46. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 



119 



INCOME OF UNIVERSITIES, COLLEGES, AND 
TECHNOLOGICAL SCHOOLS 



60 

U 

52 
SS 

H 

a 

f 






:'^ 




H 5f % 11 % 9^ 'CO 'df '61 '03 '^f '(7S '6^' 61 'OS 'Of 'lO 



I 



CHART VII. 

P — Federal aid. S — State aid. E — Income from endowment funds. 
T — Tuitions and fees. M — Mescellaneous. 



nished almost one-half of the support funds, but by 1910 the pro- 
portion had declined to one-seventh. For the same period the in- 
come from state sources had increased from one-fifth to more than 
one-half. It seems unlikely that further Federal aid will be given 
to the college as such, though assistance to experiment stations 
within these institutions will likely be increased to meet the needs 
which appear. 



120 



CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 



Year 



INCOME FUNDS 

AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGES 

Table 6 

Federal State Other Tuitions Miscel- 

Aid Aid Endow- and Fees laneous Total 

ments Funds 



1894 


1 
1.5 


2 


1 
1.9 


2 


1 


2 


1 

1.9 


2 


1 


2 


1 


1895 


1.7 


42.5 


0.9 


22.5 


.7 


17.5 


0.5 


12.5 


.2 


5.0 


4.0 


1896 


1.5 




2.2 








1.5 










1897 


1.7 




1.9 








1-7 










1898 


1.7 


29.2 


2.5 


42.5 






1.6 


27.2 






5.8 


1899 


1.8 


28.8 


2.6 


41.6 






1.8 


28.8 






6.2 


1900 


1.8 


25.2 


2.9 


40.6 






2.4 


33.6 






7.1 


1901 


1.9 


25.8 


3.1 


42.1 


.6 


8.1 


1.0 


13.6 


.8 


10.8 


7.3 


1902 


2.0 


21.6 


4.3 


46.4 


.6 


6.4 


1.1 


11.8 


1.2 


12.9 


9.2 


1903 


2.0 


20.8 


4.6 


47.8 


.6 


6.2 


1.2 


12.5 


1.1 


11.4 


9.6 


1904 


2.0 


18.4 


5.7 


52.4 


.6 


5.5 


1.4 


12.8 


1.1 


10.1 


10.9 


1905 


2.0 


17.0 


5.8 


49.3 


.7 


5.9 


1.5 


12.7 


1.7 


14.4 


11.7 


1906 


2.1 


15.3 


7.5 


54.7 


.7 


5.1 


1.6 


11.6 


1.7 


12.4 


13.6 


1907 


2.1 


14.4 


7.8 


53.7 


.7 


5.5 


1.8 


12.4 


2.1 


14.4 


14.5 


1908 


2.4 


12.9 


10.4 


56.1 


.8 


4.3 


1.9 


10.2 


2.8 


15.1 


18.3 


1909 


2.7 


14.3 


10.6 


56,1 


.8 


4.2 


2.2 


11.6 


2.4 


12.7 


18.6 


1910 


3.0 


14.4 


11.1 


52.2 


.9 


4.3 


2.2 


10.3 


3.7 


17.4 


20.9 


1911 


3.3 


15.9 


11.3 


54.9 


.7 


3.7 


2.4 


11.8 


2.8 


13.6 


20.6 


1912 


3.5 


14.2 


14.9 


59.9 


.7 


3.1 


2.5 


10.3 


3.0 


12.3 


24.8 


1913 


3.5 


14.2 


14.2 


56.9 


.9 


3.9 


2.6 


10.7 


3.5 


14.2 


24.9 


1. 


Amounts given 


I in millions 


of dollars. 












2. 


Per cent of total amount 


received. 













Other Schools. 

Sufficient illustrations of types of schools have been given to show 
that co-operative endeavor has been the nucleus of effective pro- 
gress. This co-operative endeavor has produced many sources of 
support, sometimes quite distinct. The tendency of the state to 
assume the obligation of making support funds stable and effective 
has been obvious. It is an expression of a fact, — already pointed out 
and characteristic of democratic government, — that the state must 
direct and support such types of educational institutions as have 
an effective relation with the progress of all the citizens. Only a 
few additional types of schools are suggested to show the shifting 
toward state support. 

Law schools were established as private institutions in the law 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 121 

offices and libraries of distinguished lawyers. In reality they were 
not schools. There is even yet an attitude held by intelligent people 
that such a place is better than the law school to acquire a thorough 
understanding of the law. For various reasons the eminent law- 
yers of today cannot take a class of students and apprentices into 
their offices and teach them as they were wont to do years ago. 
The number of law schools is on the increase. Since 1896 there has 
been an increase of over fifty per cent in number of schools report 
ing. The income of productive funds and benefactions have fur^ 
nished the main source of income for the early years of the period 
considered. In 1910 a productive fund of $2,014,000 was reported 
from 114 law schools. In 1900 the total income for law schools was 
$482,000 ; in 1910 it was $1,421,000. At the present time the state 
is participating in the support of schools of law to a very great ex- 
tent. 

Schools of theology have depended primarily upon endowment 
funds throughout their history. There has been an increase in 
number of schools from 144 in 1896 to 184 in 1910. The permanent 
endowment funds for the same period range from $17,970,000 in 
1896 to $34,504,000 in 1910. From 1900 to 1910 the total income has 
increased from $1,188,000 to $3,356,000. The annual expenses are 
supplemented rather generously by benefactions. 

Colleges of medicine, though decreasing in number of institutions, 
have increased five-fold in endowment funds from 1899 to 1910, have 
doubled the income fund since 1902, and have had a ten-fold in- 
crease in benefactions since 1900. The colleges of medicine, like 
those of law and theology, are undergoing a change. A specific 
study would be necessary to analyze this change. The whole num- 
ber of medical students has decreased, probably because of progres- 
sive standards. The number of schools has decreased, probably, 
first, because of the discontinuance of some not sufficiently endowed 
to meet the progressive standards, and, second, because of the con- 
solidation of others to concentrate support funds. 

It is particularly difficult to get adequate statistics of these 
schools. Some fail to report the amount of productive funds or their 
total income. It is safe to say that here as in the other institutions 
mentioned, the shifting in support is from the voluntary to state 
responsibility. In case of these three institutions, the state is 



122 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

coming to direct and support, though theology presents a more 
puzzling problem than either law or medicine. These institutions 
are going through a transition with a definite tendency toward be- 
coming state institutions. 

Some Supplementary Factors. 

In the statistical study which we have made, the factors of popu- 
lation, length of school term, increasing expenses of operation be- 
cause of better buildings, equipments and teachers ' salaries, relation 
of support funds to growing wealth, wider use of the school plant, 
and several others, have not been considered fundamentally, since 
the problem proposed has been rather to show how funds from 
various sources have co-operated to promote whatever school sys- 
tems or types of institution have arisen and fovind a place in society. 
This failure to consider the factors is not to ignore or depreciate 
their significance. 

The factors sviggested have great significance in any comparison 
of annual aggregate totals of school support funds, and likewise in 
any analysis of funds made to discover their sources. It is impossi- 
ble, however, within the range of this study to point out in any de- 
tail the directions of their significance. Two factors relating par- 
ticularly to the common school system may be considered briefly, 
namely, population and length of school term. 

Statistics show* that the percent of school population (children 
5 to 18 years of age) enrolled in the public schools by years has in- 
creased but slightly more than one per cent from 1889 to 1907. 
Again there has been a slight decrease in the per cent of school 
population to the total population, showing a relative decrease, 
therefore, in the number of children between 5 and 18 years. In 
1890, the per cent was 29.6; in 1900, it was 29.5; and in 1908, 
28.3. Further, statistics show relations to population of growth 
in school receipts and expenditures. In 1890, the receipts for school 
support on the basis of per capita of school population was $7.87 ; 
in 1900, it was approximately $9.63 ; and in 1908, $15.52. Statistics 
of expenditure for public schools indicate that, in 1890, on the basis 
of total population, the per capita expenses were $2.24; in 1900, 



*Eeport of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1908, Vol. 11, p. 392, Table 6. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 123 

$2.84; in 1908, $4.27. The expenses on basis of average attendance 
for the same dates were, $17.23, $20.21, and $30.55, respectively. 

From the time of Caleb Mills' struggle in Indiana for a longer 
term of school, the lengthening of the school term has been a gradual 
and slow process. The barrier to the extension of the period of 
schooling has been the increased cost of support. In certain states 
the extension of the term meant reliance and dependence upon 
voluntary subscriptions as supplementary to public funds; in 
other states it meant increased taxation. For a time, the former 
was the more popular way of extending the period of schooling. 
Constant progress has been made during the past twenty-five or 
thirty years. In 1880 the average length of the school term in the 
United States was 130.3 days. By 1900, 14 days had been added 
making 144.3 days; then, in 1908, 154.1 days are given as the 
average. The extension of the period of schooling together with the 
enrichment of the course, which logically follows, would account 
for a large part of the increased annual aggregate for public schools. 

The relations of these two factors to the problem of the growth 
and analysis of funds suggest, at least, the necessity of detailed 
analysis for any adequate and complete survey of school funds. 
Our statistical study has aimed to present in general the growing 
importance of school support funds and the relation of sources, as 
observed in the statistics of specified periods. Further than this 
we had not intended to go. 



SOME RECENT TENDENCIES 

IN 

EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT 



The problem of developing our school finances, in the light of the 
perpetuity of our democratic government, is to see how our reve- 
nues are to be increased perpetually to meet the gradually increas- 
ing burdens. The problem of increasing the production of wealth 
is laid at the door of our public school system. That the obligation 
of educating the citizens of a state should rest upon the state, on 
the basis of wealth in the state, has a new meaning when the rela- 
tion between national progress and popular education is under- 
stood. 



Introduction 

The twentieth century is characterized by a conscious attempt to 
evaluate educational tendencies and the methods of educational sup- 
port. The United States has led the nations of the world in promot- 
ing education, if we consider her efforts in the light of her other 
national interests. Many nations, as England, France, Germany, 
and Russia, have tremendous expenses in maintaining the agencies 
of government.* This has, no doubt, affected their attitude to- 
ward their educational policies. The success of popular education 
in our country has resulted from the freedom given to local initia- 
tive, which taxation for the expenses of the Government has never 
handicapped. This is a significant relation in our National policy. 

It is worth repeating that the relative proportions of expendi- 
ture for schools to expenditure for the operation of government is 
a vital question. Our expenses for government are comparatively 
low; however, it must be remembered that our public debt is in- 
creasing. Russia, with a national debt four times as large as the 
United States, maintains no system of free schools for the masses. 
That the question of school support in the United States is in the 
hands of the people, is a cherished fact, but the demands for moneys 
for the maintenance of the interests of the Government, once rela- 
tively insignificant, may soon present graver aspects. One of the 
important tendencies related to school expenditure is the considera- 
tion given to this ratio between the amounts spent for education and 
the amounts spent for interests strictly the Government's. It is 
clear that in a democracy this ratio and its significance must be a 
matter of concern in any scheme of school support. 

The problem of developing our school finances, in the light of the 
perpetuity of our democratic government, is to see how our revenues 
are to be increased perpetually to meet the gradually increasing 
burdens in the support for the maintenance of the National Govern- 
ment. The problem of increasing the production of wealth is laid 
at the door of the public school system. That the obligation of 
educating the citizens of a state should rest upon the state, on the 



*Schae£fer, Danger Signals from Abroad, in Report of Com. on Taxation 
to the National Education Association, 1905, pp. 37, 38. 



128 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

basis of wealth in the state, has a new meaning when the relation 
between national progress and popular education is understood. If 
international peace, for example, were secured the enormous ex- 
penditure for navies and armies would be reduced and these moneys 
would be appropriated for the promotion of the pursuits of peace. 
Were peace to be possible only through the instrumentality of educa- 
tional institutions, then the expenditure for support of these would 
be clearly justifiable and most economical.* Again, if the spirit 
of conservation were the product of scientific investigation and 
education, then moneys appropriated to produce a spirit antago- 
nistic to waste and inefficiency in the use of natural resources would 
be granted wisely. The spread of general intelligence is fundamen- 
tal to the perpetuation of our integrity as a nation. 

Another tendency in the educational thought of recent years is 
the growing recognition of the values of various types of specialized 
education. The narrow course of study having the ancient languag- 
es as the backbone has yielded to specialized study to meet the needs 
of differentiated social functions. The realization of the need of 
specialized functions has involved an increasing appropriation of 
money. Many specialized courses of study have been added to the 
curriculum to this end, and even specialized institutions have found 
a place in the system of public-supported schools. 

In the development of the school system the increase of state 
responsibility for the regulation, the maintenance, and the support 
of schools, has been pointed out repeatedly. This dependence upon 
the state for oversight and direction has resulted in distinct state 
support. The inequalities of educational opportunities, due to local 
conditions, can be adjusted only by the state, and even then by the 
state only within the reasonable limits of the state's resources. In a 
democracy the larger and stronger unit must protect and help the 
smaller. The past decade has demonstrated the necessity and ex- 



*Professor Wheeler of Yale University is reported to have said that the 
$200,000,000 required to maintain the navies of the world "would put a 
Harvard College with free tuition for all our children in every state and an 
industrial school as good as Tuskegee by it." 

Commissioner Kendall of New Jersey says in his annual report, 1913, 
incidental to increased school expense, "that the tobacco bill in this country is 
almost as great as the bill for public education; that the bill for candy is 
one-fourth as great; that the bill for automobiles is one-half as ga'eat. " 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 129 

pedieney of state support, so that the operation of the system of 
public educatiou may result in the increased productiveness of 
wealth, as well as in the continued free expression of individual 
initiative which has always characterized our educational and na- 
tional progress. 

In the growth and development of the last decade a spirit 
of standardizing public education has arisen throughout the coun- 
try. Standardization has developed as a means of securing effi- 
cient and effective participation in state funds. That is, there must 
be a definition of the institutions which the state proposes to assist. 
The state must know what a minimum standard elementary school 
is, what a minimum standard secondary school is, and so on. State 
aid is granted to institutions logically and primarily on the basis 
of minimum standards. Local initiative has a chance for expression 
in enriching schools beyond the minimum standards, by adding 
new courses, by improving standards of teaching, by increasing 
library facilities, and by providing adequate supervision and inspec- 
tion. This co-operation of effort in promoting schools has digni- 
fied education as a real department of state. It took a half century 
and more to learn that elementary education was a logical function 
of the state ; it has taken twenty-five years and more already to learn 
that the state should support specialized types of schools as well as 
the traditional, and yet the lesson is not fully comprehended. 

The growing complexity of educational progress has demanded 
further an evaluation of the historical methods of support. Though 
in fact there have been discovered no new methods of support since 
the colonial days, yet there has come about not only an evaluation 
of the methods existing but an appreciation of a relation between 
these, which is understood at least reasonably well. The schools 
of the colonies were founded in voluntary effort and gratuitous 
service and for a long time were thus maintained ; however, there is 
no need of argument to show that voluntary effort and private 
benefactions are uncertain and temporary, and on the whole un- 
substantial sources of revenue. The preceding chapter showed that 
the proportion of the total receipts which such funds make is de- 
creasing gradually. All tendencies center in the recognition of the 
growing importance of the state as guide, director, and even as 
supporter of educational agencies. 



130 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

It is important to appreciate that the rise of the state as a factor 
in educational support has not prevented the expression of indi- 
vidual initiative through voluntary contributions. The importance 
of the voluntary system has been shown in the statistical study pre- 
sented in the foregoing chapter. This method has been effective in 
higher and special schools. The early American college, supported 
largely by voluntary effort lay close to the needs and interests of the 
people, — in fact it grew up out of the people. Not only did these 
early colleges provide buildings, teachers, and scholarships, but op- 
portunities for labor Avhereby students could support themselves,— 
an idea inherited from the colonies.* 

These private and denominational institutions have continued to 
grow along side of state-endowed and state-supported schools. For 
the year closing June 30, 1913, t there was contributed by private 
benefaction for universities, colleges, and technological schools for 
both sexes, a total of $24,651,958, an amount over $5,000,000 
greater than that received from state and municipal appropriations, 
$9,000,000 more than the income of invested funds, $5,000,000 more 
than the income from fees for tuitions and other educational ser- 
vices. If we add to this sum the benefactions to medical colleges, the 
sum is increased by $1,135,562 ; and, the amount to schools of theo- 
logy, the sum is still further increased by $2,336,510. Then the sum 
of $798,988 was given by individuals for buildings and current ex- 
penses of our colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts, $476,654 
(1912 statistics) to public normal schools, $199,899 to private nor- 
mal schools, $657,383 to private high schools and academies, $159,- 
815 to public reformatories, $189,453 to schools of law, $12,000 to 
dentistry, $54,284 to schools of pharmacy. This makes an aggre- 
bate of over $30,000,000, which does not include benefactions for 
many minor types of schools such as manual training high schools, 
business schools, and so forth, nor does it include receipts from tui- 
tions, room-rent and board, nor the income of productive funds. 
Also it must be remembered that not all schools are included here, 
the number reporting never being complete. 

Though it is generally recognized that there is much of ''foolish 



"Oberlin College presents an early history which is typical of the early 
American college. 

tReport of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1913. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 131 

philanthropy" in the voluntary system, and further that it is not 
stable, since the policy of such institutions tends to shift, according 
to the amounts of funds available for use, on the one hand, and ac- 
cording to the source of the benefaction, on the other, yet the initia- 
tive of a free people has been fairly consistent, whether in establisli- 
ing and maintaining private institutions, or in promoting public 
institutions by taxation. The source of support for institutions can 
be none other than the income of wealth. The state system is in 
the ascendency because through it there is a stability in purpose, 
in plan, and in support, and a scope in function, which the volun- 
tary system alone could never realize. 

The state is able to secure increased revenues for the needs of the 
school in at least two directions. First, the rise of state support has 
resulted from a pressing need of preventing the waste incident to 
an unstable method of support and the inefficiency of unintelligent 
direction. This principle of securing increased revenue rests on the 
fact that a ''penny saved is a penny earned". There are marked 
tendencies iu modern education toward the elimination of the cum- 
bersome and uneconomic methods of support, and the consolidation 
of schools wherever feasible. It is the method of larger business. 

The second source of increased revenue consists in the extension 
of regular taxation. A glance at the tables and charts in the fore- 
going chapter shows that a gradually increasing per capita amount 
is being raised by taxation. Miscellaneous sources and funds are 
becoming less and less significant. Many sources of revenue, 
prompted by purely arbitrary motives, have in the past at times 
presented rather large aggregates, but the felt lack of any logical 
reason for placing such funds as fines, taxes on dogs, peddlers' 
licenses, marriage licenses, and the like, into the educational fund, 
has stimulated us to a more reliable and scientific precedure in 
financing institutions. Legitimate sources of revenue now untaxed 
may be added to the list of taxable wealth, so that private property 
may be relieved relatively. 

The appreciation of the fact that education is a social investment 
explains the rapid growth in funds for specialized courses and 
specialized schools. A relatively larger amount of money is de- 
manded as school functions differentiate. Every new development 
carries with it an appropriation of money. Justification for this 



132 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

expenditure rests in the increased productivity of wealth resulting 
from this democratic type of education. 

These are some of the tendencies that suggest themselves in this 
study. It is not purposed to evaluate them, for the task of evalua- 
tion must be left to special investigators. However, illustrations of 
these tendencies may be cited to indicate some present developments 
in educational support. 

Extension of High School Funds. 

General. — The standardization of elementary and secondary 
schools has resulted in a rather marked extension support funds. 
Further the extension of the scope of the high school has involved 
either an increase in tax levies, or a special fund. The states have 
provided either by state appropriation or by special tax for many 
specialized features of secondary education. 

Tennessee passed an act in 1909* providing for a more adequate 
support of all grades of schools. This law provided for a general 
educational fund by appropriating twenty-five per cent of the gross 
receipts of the state to this purpose. Of this amount eight per cent 
was to be used as a high-school fund for the purpose of establishing 
and maintaining public county high schools. 

Maryland also illustrates this tendency to promote high schools by 
special appropriation. According to the act of 1910,^ provision 
was made for extensive assistance to the high schools of the State 
on the basis of pupils enrolled, teachers employed, and years of in- 
struction given. The high schools of the State are arranged by the 
State board of Education in two groups, known as Group One and 
Group Two. Schools in the first group on conditions imposed may 
receive as high as $2,500 from the State toward the support of the 
high school ; schools in the second group, on the basis of cost of in- 
struction on account of principal, assistant, teacher, and instructor 
in special subjects, may receive approximately $1,500. 

The special high-school tax is illustrated in the State of Teimessee 
where it has been the provision since 1899 to establish the County 



*Public School Laws of Tennessee, 1911, p. 76. 

tThe Public School Laws of Maryland as contained in Code of Public 
General Laws of 1904, Supplement of 1906, and the Acts of 1908 and 1910, 
pp. 151, 152. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 133 

High School Fund by special tax levy, not exceeding fifteen cents 
on all taxable property, and by special comity appropriations.* 
Utah makes special provision for the establishment and mainte- 
nance of high schools in high school districts. A county is a high- 
school district unless otherwise agreed. A county may be sub-di- 
vided into two or more high school districts, t When the electors 
by vote favor the establishment of one or more high schools in such 
district then the board of education shall establish such a school 
and they are authorized to levy a tax on all taxable property in the 
district for the support of the high school, in any amount not ex- 
ceeding five mills on the dollar, t 

The public high school is supported, further, by the extension of 
its opportunities to pupils from outlying districts by means of tui- 
tion acts whereby students in corporations not offering four year 
high school courses may attend any such high school at the expense 
of the district from wiiich he comes. 

Iowa has such a tuition act.t The purpose of the Iowa law is 
to extend high school privileges to less fortunately located children. 
One effect however, is to increase the levy in those districts having 
tuition pupils in other schools. It may serv^e to increase the levy 
in the districts to which they have gone in order that the added ex- 
pense these tuition pupils incur may be met. Over 7,000 tuition pu- 
pils, 6j333 of whom were in four-year accredited high schools, were 
reported for the first three months under the operation of the law, 
according to the report of the State Superintendent. The average 
rate of tuition charged was about $4.50 per month. South Dakota 
has a similar law§ though it provides for tuition only to the extent 
of two dollars ($2.00) per month, and that with certain limitations. 
Many other states have similar provisions. 

Another item of expense incident to the development of consoli- 
dated, township or county high schools is that of transportation. To 
equalize tlie privileges of high school education, laws have been 
enacted in many states authorizing tax levies for the puipose of 
providing transportation. Vermont which has made provision for 



*Public School Laws of Tennessee, 1911, p. 38. 

•fSehool Law of Utah, 1911, pp. 31-40. 

tSee Circular No. 5, 1911, of the Department of Public Instruction, pp. 4, 5. 

§The School Laws of South Dakota, 1911, p. 48. 



134 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

the transportation of elementary pupils specifies in the law that 
the privilege of transportation on conveyances furnished elementary 
pupils shaU not be denied to pupils of high schools.* 

It is worth pointing out that high schools have been enriched in 
course of study and in efficiency of administration and instruction 
by the subscriptions of patrons and friends. It is remembered that 
with the establishment of public school systems in the South suffi- 
cient funds were seldom available to establish public schools, par- 
ticularly high schools, outside of cities and towns. It has been the 
policy, in the South particularly, to subsidize private subscriptions 
schools already in operation. Patrons pay the difference between 
total cost of maintenance and the pro rata share of ^tate money. The 
poor showing in the records of many states of the South is due to the 
fact that the results of voluntary subscriptions are not recorded. 
The amounts reported would be extremely small, outside of cities 
and towns, where there is no local taxation. To encourage local 
taxation Alabama passed an act appropriating $67,000 annually to 
encourage local taxation, t Georgia extended her school term for 
the year, 1909-1910, from 105 days to 132 days by means of private 
subscriptions. How much was subscribed for high schools it is im- 
possible to say, but a relatively large portion of the subscription 
funds went to the support of high schools, since state money would 
be sufficient probably for elementary schools. 

Special. — In addition, to increased appropriations and taxes for 
the development of regular high schools, the last decade has pro- 
duced an enthusiastic interest in special high school courses, on the 
one hand and special high schools, on the other. The tendency 
is sufficiently marked to warrant special attention. 

One of the characteristic recent tendencies in the development 
of special high school courses is that of normal training. In 1911 
Iowa passed an act "relating to the training of teachers for rural 
schools and making appropriations therefor". Each high school 
approved under the act was to receive $500 annually, provided how- 
ever, that not more than $800 is paid to any one county. The sum of 



*General Laws of the State of Vermont Eelating to Public Instruction, 1911, 
p. 31, Sec. 1014, p. 51, Sec. 4. 

tGeneral Public School Laws of Alabama, 1911. For reference to the par- 
ticipation of high schools in this appropriation, see page 73. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 135 

$25,000 was appropriated by the legislature of 1911 for the year 
ending July 1, 1912, and $50,000 annually thereafter.* The dearth 
of well qualified teachers for rural schools in the state has created 
this demand and to most minds this type of movement seems to ap- 
peal. 

Kansas appropriated $75,000 for each of the years 1913 and 1914 ; 
Nebraska appropriated $125,000 for 1913-1914; Vermont $14,550, 
1914 ; and Virginia, $15,000 for each of the last three years years ; 
Pennsylvania provides in the act for the support of the public 
school and normal schools the following: For each student over 
seventeen years of age, who shall sign an agreement binding said 
student to teach in the common schools of this State two full annual 
terms, there shall be paid the sum of one dollar and fifty cents a 
week towards the payment of expenses for tuition for said students ; 
Provided that each student in a State Normal School drawing said 
allowance from the State must receive regular instruction in the sci- 
ences and arts of teaching, in a special class devoted to that object, 
for the whole time for which the allowance is drawn, which amount 
shall be paid upon the warrants of the Superintendent of Public 
Instruction. 

Manual training, technical, industrial, and agricultural courses, 
are likewise meeting with popular favor, and are strengthening the 
demand for increased appropriations. The increase of expendi- 
ture for normal arts is shown in Table 7, for the whole country, and 
for the five principal divisions, covering a period of seventeen years, 
1897-1913. Table 8 gives the receipts for the same period for eight 
states where manual arts may be said to have had special emphasis. 

This type of instruction has had an interesting beginning, illus- 
trating the dependence of each new movement upon a variety of 
sources. For the year, 1885-1886, the sum of $123,950 was reportedt 
to have been expended for manual training departments and schools, 
and the sum of $320,590 for industrial training in the various foi*ms. 
In that report* forty-eight institutions reported. Of the forty- 
eight, at least thirty-six were supported wholly or in part, by bene- 
factions in the form of bequests, private contributions, church be- 



*See Circular No. 5, 1911, Department of Public Instruction, Des Moinea, 
Iowa, pp. 2-4. 

tReport of U. S. Com. of Educ, 1885-1886, pp. 597-599. 



136 



CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 



RECEIPTS FOR THE SUPPORT OF MANUAL ARTS* 









Table 7 










North 


South 


South 


North 


The 




Year 


Atlantic 


Atlantic 


Central 


Central 


Western 


Total 




States 


States 


States 


States 


States 




1897 


338 


41 




67 


31 


476 


1898 


372 


49 


16 


109 


110 


655 


1899 


466 


53 


13 


234 


147 


913 


1900 


350 


41 


32 


206 


137 


766 


1901 


362 


45 


37 


257 


123 


823 


1902 


468 


53 


33 


478t 


87 


1,118 


1903 


590 


82 


33 


279 


116 


1,100 


1904 


911 


139 


76 


269 


84 


1,481 


1905 


774 


147 


137 


365 


130 


1,553 


1906 


1,191 


81 


101 


348 


178 


1,899 


1907 


1,538 


1,004$ 


276 


585' 


215 


3,618 


1908 


1,921 


343 


222 


383 


314 


3,183 


1909 


2,592 


444 


203 


434 


285 


3,957 


1910 


2,040 


383 


366 


1,679 


423 


4,891 


1911 


3,048 


1,003 


549 


2,484 


458 


7,544 


1912 


4,283 


1,590 


441 


691 


421 


7,426 


1913 


2,999 


1,847 


500 


685 


553 


6,584 



* Amounts given in thousands of dollars, 
t Incidentals to the extent of $152,464. 
+ $870,490 for permanent improvements. 



nevolences, and donations. Twenty-six were supported Avholly by 
benevolence througli private and co-operative endeavor. Fifteen 
were supported wholly, or in part, by funds from the Government, 
nine being supported wholly by the Government, and six by the 
Government, assisted by the returns from farm products, and the 
labor of inmates, or by the efforts of the American Missionary Asso- 
ciation, as at Santa Fe where the Indians received training, or by 
contributions and charity. Only two participated in state funds 
and only one, at Columbus, Mississippi, was supported wholly by 
state funds. 

Growing out of the establishment, equipment and maintenance 
of special high school courses, special high schools have arisen. A 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 137 

RECEIPTS FOR THE SUPPORT OF MANUAL ARTS 

IN CERTAIN STATES* 

Table 8. 



Year ~ 


Ala. 


Cal. 


III. 


Mass. 


Mo. 


N.Y. 


0. 


Pa. 


Total 


1897 




20.5 


12.5 


48.1 


21.6 


211.4 


7.6 


86.6 


408.3 


1898 




54.6 


24.1 


55.0 


7.5 


15.7 


8.9 


146.3 


312.1 


1899 


.9 


55.8 


52.8 


68.9 


14.1 


207.0 


45.1 


136.6 


581.2 


1900 


3.5 


62.4 


56.2 


48.9 


27.0 


162.8 


44.0 


97.5 


502.3 


1901 


.9 


61.5 


73.7 


39.0 


17.7 


91.0 


37.8 


135.9 


457.5 


1902 


13.2 


71.3 


89.7 


62.3 


66.5 


138.7 


249.4 


181.8 


872.9 


1903 


15.5 


81.1 


86.7 


107.2 


16.7 


245.6 


54.6 


199.6 


807.0 


1904 


14.7 


40.6 


73.7 


148.0 


68.4 


494.5 


48.3 


194.9 


1,083.1 


1905 


11.4 


113.5 


79.7 


224.6 


39.3 


298.1 


83.3 


175.4 


1,025.3 


1906 


11.6 


131.9 


85.5 


218.5 


43.0 


569.2 


44.3 


324.7 


1,428.7 


1907 


13.0 


214.0 


80.6 


355.0 


228.9 


503.0 


42.6 


507.4 


1,944.5 


1908 


21.2 


239.8 


48.9 


742.6 


57.0 


574.9 


72.4 


504.3 


2,261.1 


1909 


45.6 


236.4 


62.8 


923.3 


57.2 


1,001.0 


55.4 


582.1 


2,963.8 


1910 


177.7 


290.0 


268.8 


581.3 


276.9 


726.3 


799.4 


586.9 


3,707.3 


1911 


68.9 


284.9 


279.0 


586.0 


119.5 


1,240.0 


870.7 


901.1 


2,650.1 


1912 


144.2 


379.5 


396.8 


727.5 


125.4 


1,181.9 


533.3 


567.7 


4,056.3 


1913 


77.7 


450.6 


259.5 


816.3 


518.6 


1,292.6 


201.6 


623.5 


4,240.4 



*Amouiits given in thousands of dollars. 

generous extension of special manual and industrial high schools 
has taken place throughout the country during the past few years. 
These special high schools are located, for the most part, in the more 
populous areas, where the demand is more pressing. Less populous 
areas depend upon the consolidation of the smaller units of organi- 
zation for the promotion of special schools. Of this tendency, the 
county high schools are illustrations. 

In Michigan, provision was made in 1907 for the establishment 
of county agricultural schools, either by single counties or by two 
or more jointly, for which appropriations are made by the county 
supervisors. Thirty-seven are in operation now. Six years before 
this the Wisconsin legislature authorized two schools for agricul- 
tural education, one at Menomonie and the other at Wassau.* 
From year to year the maximum number of such schools permitted 
has been raised until, according to the laws of 1911, ten such schools 
may be established. Kansas appropriated $25,000 for each of the 
last three years for agricultural high schools. Tennessee appropri- 



*Wisconsin, Laws of 1901, Chap. 188, Sec. 10. 



138 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

ated $40,000 for 1913 and $30,000 for 1914. Vermont and Virginia 
also provide for this type of school. 

The support of the school in Wisconsin comes through the co- 
operation of the county and the state. The county must provide 
for necessary grounds, for necessary buildings, and for improving 
these from time to time. Schools meeting the requirements of the 
state superintendent and the dean of the college of agriculture and 
domestic science may be put upon an approved list, and thus be en- 
titled to state aid. These schools receive from the state "a sum 
equal to two-thirds * the amount actually expended for maintaining 

such school during the year " t This aid is conditional, but 

may amount in certain cases to $8,000. 

Any high school in Minnesota meeting certain conditions "may 
be designated to maintain an agricultural and industrial depart- 
ment to consist of courses in agriculture, manual training and home 
economics". Schools thus designated shall receive state aid to an 
amount, "not exceeding $2,500 per year, and in addition thereto 
$150 per year for each associated rural district that may be associa- 
ted with such state high, graded, or consolidated school - - - -." 
For the year ending June 30, 1911, the sum of $105,000 was ap- 
propriated for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of the 
act.+ 

Other types of special institutions have arisen to meet local state 
conditions. Usually, they are supported by large units of organi- 
zation, or by special funds. Combination of supporting agencies 
makes special schools possible, such as the high school itself, the 
high school with special courses, and the special high school. The 
large district schools illustrated in Arkansas, the country schools 
of agriculture and domestic science illustrated in Minnesota, Mis- 
sissippi, and Wisconsin, congressional district high schools illus- 
trated in Georgia, especially founded schools illustrated in the Dale 
County high school in Alabama, and a great many other schools, 
each requiring county, state, or local taxation for support, or a 
combination of these, are suggestive of some new developments. 



^Originally, the state was to bear one-half of the annual instructional ex- 
penses of the school (in no case more than $2,500), but since 1903, two-thirds. 
tLaw of Wisconsin Relating to Common Schools, 1911, pp. 236, 237. 
SLaws of Minnesota Relating to the Public School System, 1911, pp. 51, 52. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 139 

The evening high school is worthy of special mention, since it 
has become an essential educative agency in the solution of certain 
urgent urban problems. In a study of cities maintaining evening 
high schools for the period from 1901 to the present time, sixteen* 
were selected for special investigation. In addition to the reports 
of the United States Commissioner of Education, the reports of 
city superintendents have been drawn upon for the statistics and 
information used. Table 9 shows in detail the growth of the sup- 
port fund of evening schools t in these sixteen cities. 

SUPPORT OF EVENING SCHOOLS* 
Table 9 



City 


1901 


1903 


1905 


1907 


1909 


1911 


1912 


Baltimore 


2.9 


9.0 


16.2 


20.6 


23.3 


25.4 


24.6 


Boston 


95.3 


97.0 


101.6 


124.6 


125.7 


122.4 


114.3 


Chicago 


58.4 


102.9 


132.6 


119.0 


142.4 


172.5 


186.1 


Cincinnati 


7.1 


8.8 


8.8 


13.7 


25.7 


36.9 


44.1 


Detroit 


4.7 


5.5 


6.3 


11.7 


25.6 


25.4 


26.6 


Hartford 




9.1 


11.0 


18.4 


21.7 


17.3 


23.0 


Indianapolis 




1.4 


1.9 


2.2 


1.8 


2.6 


3.4 


Louisville 


7.4 


5.3 


7.3 


7.6 


13.3 


12.6 


10.7 


Lowell 


15.9 


19.9 


24.9 


20.8 


24.3 


21.5 


22.8 


New York 


347.0 


481.0 


488.9 


631.7 


703.6 


780.9 


829.8 


Philadelphia 


68.7 


51.1 


65.6 


73.7 


99.0 


94.6 


103.9 


Providence 


34.9 


34.6 


38.7 


37.3 


36.8 


47.3 


50.0 


Eochester 


4.6 


11.9 


22.1 


30.0 


46.8 


46.8 


49.7 


St. Louis 


12.0 


14.1 


18.1 


22.8 


31.8 


45.1 


42.8 


Scranton 


9.6 


8.6 




10.5 




18.0 


15.0 


Washington 


9.0 


6.5 


9.3 


12.7 


17.6 


19.3 


19.3 



* The figures given show amounts of money given for the support of these 
schools, in thousands of dollars. Amounts for 1911 were taken from city 
reports, the rest almost without exception from the Bureau reports. The itali- 
cized sums are for the preceding year, with the exception of Chicago, 1912, 
which is for 1913. 

The support of evening high schools comes from the general funds 
usually. In many cases, no attempt is made to keep separate ac- 
counts. In the table given, figures, in a large number of cases, are 
for salaries only, since the machinery of the school, in buildings. 



•'See Table 9. 

tHigh schools unless othei-wise noted. 



140 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

libraries, and so forth, are already provided for the re^lar sessions. 
It is probably true, as reports suggest, that many evening high 
schools were supported by voluntary effort; however, the recog- 
nition of the value of the evening classes soon made this feature a 
popular addition to the high school which in turn demanded special 
appropriations as the table indicates. 

In 1910, 227 cities reported* evening schools, t In these schools 
there were 9,326 teachers and 374,364 pupils. The expenditure 
made upon 138 of the schools reporting separate funds was 
$1,092,000. Forty schools reported that the expenditures of even- 
ing schools were included in those of day schools. It is probable 
that those schools making no report of expenditures failed to keep 
funds separate. 

As to the beginning of evening schools, it is impossible to write 
definitely, since they have had a gradual and somewhat slow begin- 
ning, though the opening years of the present century were marked 
by an extremely enthusiastic development of the evening high school. 
The practice of promoting evening schools dates back to the early 
years of the nineteenth century. Massachusetts legalized the 
practice in 1857 and at that time evening schools had been in oper- 
ation in Boston from 1836, in New Bedford from 1848, and in 
Lowell from 1853. By 1880, they were fairly well established by 
reputation as a permanent feature of city school sj^stems. The 
past decade has evidenced the most striking and effective growth in 
this type of school. 

That the support of evening schools will continue to increase is 
a fact that the city school reports reveal. The rapid rise of the 
curve of school support in the cities suggested indicate that the 
schools are considered worth while. Baltimore jumps from $3,000 
to $25,000 in ten years; Chicago, from $58,000 to $172,000 for a 
like period ; New York, from $347,000 to $800,000. These suggest 
the place of the evening school in large urban districts. That the 
evening school will continue to demand larger appropriations from 
boards of education is evidenced in the reports. The evening school 
is becoming less social and more intensive. The purpose of the 



■=*Eeport of U. S. Com. of Educ, 1910, Vol. II, p. 
tlneluding grades below high school. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 141 

evening school varies with urban need; as stated by the Superin- 
tendent of the St. Louis Schools it is : 

1. To provide educational opportunities for those who have 
not completed the day school course. 

2. To give special training to those who desire to become more 
efficient wage earners. 

3. To give instruction in English to foreign speaking people. 
It is observed that the continuation schools for boys and girls 

under sixteen in cities have relieved the scope of the work of the 
evening school. For example, the Director of Evening and Con- 
tinuation Schools for the City of Boston, in accounting for the 
decrease in appropriation for evening schools, says : ' ' The appro- 
priation for 1914-1915 was reduced $10,000 because of the establish- 
ment of compulsory continuation schools covering the last four 
months of the financial year. Because of the compulsory continua- 
tion schools, children under sixteen are excluded from our evening 
schools." In many cities vocational training is emphasized in the 
evening schools. The continuation schools relieve the evening 
school of being responsible for the academic training of those under 
compulsory school age. 

The increase in high school support funds by increased tax levies 
for public education, larger incomes from productive funds and 
tuitions, special county or state taxes for specialized high schools, 
special high school support funds, and other types of support, have 
arisen to meet the extension of the high schools. SmaU high 
schools seeking accredited relations, accredited high schools en- 
riching their courses, large high schools specializing their depart- 
ments, larger systems adding special high schools, have created such 
a demand for additional support that the problem of financing 
public educations has assumed great significance. This differen- 
tiation of function in the high school accounts for the enormous ex- 
penditure of public moneys for secondary education . 

CITY NORMALS AND THEIR SUPPORT. 

Introduction. — The city normal, as the name implies, is a train- 
ing school for teachers, established, equipped and, for the most part, 
supported by cities. As special training courses have been intro- 
duced into high schools in many states, for the training of teachers 



142 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

for the rural schools, so special courses have been established in 
cities for the purpose of supplying a sufficient number of assistants 
in the city systems. The latter scheme is an older one. The legis- 
lature of Pennsylvania gave to the comptrollers of public schools, 
in 1818, the power to provide a model school ' ' for the education of 
children at public expense within the city and county of Philadel- 
phia", in order to qualify teachers for schools in the State. It must 
be remembered that the Lancasterian system was popular at this 
time.* It is said that after a few years the boy monitors were 
supplanted by young ladies. In 1848 the model school was con- 
verted into a normal school for the purpose of qualifying young 
ladies for teaching. 

This example shows that not only the professional training of 
teachers, but the solution of the problem of how to select teachers 
from available home material is involved in the idea of the city nor- 
mal school. This problem is always a perplexing one for adminis- 
trators of public school systems. 

The city normal seems to have a negative and a positive function : 
candidates giving little promise of efficiency are to be weeded out ; 
and those possessing essential qualities are to be directed and 
trained. Incidently, a basis of determining successful teachers is 
worked out. 

In 1852, the city council of Boston established a city normal school 
as a part of the city public school system, the second city normal 
in the country. At this time there were many private academies 
which were giving instruction to prospective teachers, but not in 
the specific sense of the normal school. The private academies and 
private normal schools, which in a sense occupied the field, were 
supported from three main sources; interest on invested funds, 
donations, and tuitions. The public normal school or city normal 
school depended primarily upon public funds. By 1880, there 
were twenty-one city normals, probably as many as there were 
private normals. In 1888-1889 fifty-eight cities are reportedt as 
having training schools and classes. These, for the most part, 
were connected with city high schools in cities with 4,000 inhabi- 



"'Eeport of the U. S. Com. of Educ, 1898-1899, Vol. 2, p. 2447. 
flbid, 1888-1889, Vol. II, p. 957. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 143 

tants and over. The enrollment in these fifty-eight high schools was 
838. At the present time, there are about eighty cities maintaining 
such schools, New York having fifteen and New Jersey, nine. It is 
interesting to note that twenty-one states have this class of insti- 
tution. 

The features of the city normal school which have elicited popular 
support ma}' be stated briefl}^; a normal school at home, systema- 
tized training for a whole corps of teachers, longer tenure for 
teachers, better control on the part of the superintendent over 
administrative problems relating to teachers, possibility of closer 
supervision of teachers under training, and of the elimination of 
the inefficient, special direction for special work, practice teaching 
in typically graded schools, cheek upon social and political influ- 
ences in appointments, and a professional training for a class pro- 
vided for in no other way. 

Support funds. — City training schools have arisen in various 
ways. The first schools v/ere founded by the cities and supported 
by the cities. Provision is sometimes made in the law authorizing 
city boards to introduce training classes for the improvement of 
candidates for teacherships. Louisiana* has one city normal, lo- 
cated at New Orleans. New York provides for training classes 
and training schools, the former in academies and union free 
schools, the latter in city or school districts having a population of 
over 5,000 and employing a superintendent of schools. There 
were eighty-nine training classes maintained during the year, 
1909-1910, at an expense of $63,657.50, from the free school fund, 
one dollar for each week of instruction of each pupil. For the 
same period, the sum of $61,342.50 was apportioned from the free 
school fund for the fifteen training schools. 

Nebraska, according to the report of the state superintendent, 
has had normal training schools for five years. The state tax raised 
for these schools amounted to $50,000 in 1911. The city normal 
schools in South Dakota are supported by district tax. For several 
years, the St. Louis Teachers' College has carried on the work of 
equipping teachers, which has a wide reputation for thoroughness. 



* Compilation of the Laws of Louisiana Eelating to the Free Public Schools, 
1905, p. 73, Sec. 73, paragraph 9. 



144 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

In 1909, the sum of $24,069.35 was spent for this college ; in 1910, 
it was $25,817.20. 

In the reports of many states there is considerable confusion be- 
tween the establishment of training courses in secondary schools 
and the establishment of training schools. The city training course 
is finding its place in city systems at public expense. The train- 
ing schools are confined to the larger cities where the problem of 
supplying teachers is peculiarly difficult. 

COUNTY TRAINING SCHOOLS AND THEIR SUPPORT 
Another institution established for the purpose of providing 
teachers for the public schools is the county training school. In 
some states the county training school is popular. Virginia has 
twenty-two. Alabama reported twenty-two in, 1909 and thirty- 
three in 1910. Wisconsin had twenty-two in 1909 and twenty-three 
in 1910. Wisconsin has used the county training school effectively 
in the development of teachers for the rural schools. Any county 
not having a state normal may be put on the list for a county nor- 
mal, though the number is limited to twenty-six. 

The county training school is founded by the county and sup- 
ported from county funds which are specially provided, supple- 
mented by state funds. Wisconsin illustrates this general tendency 
in the support of such schools. Counties are authoritized to pro- 
vide for these schools and, as in the case of agricultural high 
schools, state aid is granted to the amount of two thirds of the 
amount actually expended for maintaining them during the year, 
provided the total amount so apportioned shall not exceed thirty- 
five hundred dollars in any school year to any one school. 

FELLOWSHIP FUNDS. * 

Introduction. — Repeated reference has been made to the fact 

that the early settlers co-operated to assist worthy young men in 

gaining for themselves a higher education. Whatever was donated 

for this purpose was given as an "encouragement". There 



*The discussion in this section is based upon replies received to a ques- 
tionnaire, supplemented by statements in catalogues. Eeplies were received 
from forty-three institutions, most of which encouraged the establishment 
and development of such funds. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 145 

seemed to be no disposition to give students their support outright, 
rather they preferred to give them the opportunity to keep them- 
selves in school.* To this end, farms were established and equipped 
in connection with the schools. Gifts of land, machinery, horses, 
cows, and even of slaves, were made so that pupils might have a 
means of making a living. In addition to the college farms, scholar- 
ships were provided for worthy students by individual colonies, 
benevolent societies, and sometimes by mother countries. Rhode 
Islandt furnishes an example of how parents and the colonies in 
general sought the welfare of students who were pursuing advanced 
courses in Harvard College.^ Connecticut, in 1644, provided for 
the assessment of one peck of wheat, or its equivalent, upon all 
families for the support of poor students in Harvard. 

During the rise of state sj'stems, the notion of such assistance 
has recei"^ed a relatively insignificant amount of attention. Among 
the recent and definite movements which recognize this principle 
is the rapid development of fellowship funds in colleges and uni- 
versities. The important effects of such provisions are many and 
varied. The development of fellowship funds is tending directly 
to level upward the standards of the teaching profession, on the one 
hand, and indirectly to enrich the course of study, on the other. It 
is the purpose here to indicate certain features of this development. 

Purpose of the funds. — There is a unanimity of purpose among 
institutions in their development of fellowship funds; however, 
these funds have been administered in many and varied ways. This 
purpose has a three-fold meaning, judging from the replies re- 
ceived: the assistance of worthy students, the promotion of study 
and research, and the building up of the institutions. In all in- 
stitutions there is a sense of obligation felt for the needy and worthy 
students. The second aspect is clearly expressed by President G. 
Stanley Hall when he says that the purpose of fellowship funds is, 
"to free men of unusual promise from financial worries regarding 
self support that they might give their entire time to the subject 
of their choice". Then, there has been a tendency among many 
institutions to look upon the fellow as a cheap assistant, a kind of 



*See above, page 19. 
tSee above, pp. 10, 11. 
JIbid. 



146 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

apprentice, who is willing to spend a year or two instructing or as- 
sisting on part time in order to have the opportunity of getting 
some preparation for teaching positions. 

It is stated coneerning Johns Hopkins University* that "The 
system of fellowship was instituted for the purpose of affording 
to young men of talent from any place an opportunity of continu- 
ing their studies in Johns Hopkins University, while looking forward 
to positions as professors, teachers, and investigators, or to other 
literary and scientific vocations," It is clear that the purpose of 
the fellowship is to help worthy students so that they may become 
research students and at the same time enhance and influence of 
the institution offering the opportunity. From the time when 
Connecticut Colony assessed the peck of wheat, or when Viriginia 
in 1718 appropriated one thousand pounds for the education of 
ingenious scholars or when Hon. Ker Boyce gave $33,000 to endow 
eight scholarships in the College of Charleston, down to the 
establishment of the largest research fellowship of the present 
time, the idea of producing a high type of leadership has been clear- 
ly in mind. The purposes in the various institutions, as presented 
in the answers, may be presented in detail under the three heads 
mentioned. The following quotations illustrate the first aspect of 
the problem : to assist promising young men — to encourage a class 
of students who give particular promise as investigators or teach- 
ers — to free men of unusual promise from financial worries regard- 
ing self support — to aid needy capable students to go on to research 
— to enable students to pursue graduate studies — to enable promis- 
ing students to remain after bachelor graduation for advanced 
study — to help meritorious students — to enable students of distinct- 
tion to spend their time in studies which did not hold out an imme- 
diate prospect of remuneration. It is clear that these expressions 
are partial and involve a more far-reaching meaning. 

In the second place, the importance of study and research is 
fully appreciated by most institutions. The notion that the school 
must aim at social service brings the promotion of study and re- 
search into distinct prominence. This aspect is expressed as fol- 
lows : to assist promising young men for the most advanced study — 



*^The Johns Hopkins University Eegister, 1910-11, p. 218. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 147 

to enable students to pursue graduate study — they are for the en- 
couragement of purely graduate study — to encourage a class of stu- 
dents who give particular promise as investigators or teachers — to 

encourage advanced work and research — to free men that they 

might give their entire time to the subject of their choice — to 
hold every fellow to some original work, to see him every few days 
and prod him that he do it and do it well — to discourage his un- 
dertaking anything else outside, such as teaching, marking papers, 
doing outside work so that he may give his entire time to his sub- 
ject — the idea was to train some young men that would be available 
for teachers for the college, if needed — to afford to young men of 
talent from any place an opportunity of continuing their studies - 

while looking forward to positions as professors, teachers and 

investigators, or to other literary and scientific vocations — for the 
encouragement of advanced study and research — to encourage ad- 
vanced study on the part of a few more brilliant students — to train 
certain persons for teaching — the design is to secure more thorough 
and extended scholarship than can be obtained in the time usually 
alloted academic instruction — to enable students of distinction to 
spend their time in studies which did not hold out an immediate 
prospect of remuneration. 

Not a few institutions emphasize the value which the institutions 
themselves get from the use of such funds. The development of the 
graduate college has been an object of concern.. Only one instance, 
Bowdoin College, was found where fellowships were given by don- 
ors to graduates of the college in order that they might study else- 
where. There is a tendency to develop the graduate college in this 
way as the following quotations imply: the university fellowships 
were established to promote the graduate school at Blank — we 
call assistant positions, $100 to $400, leading fellowships or scholar- 
ships — we have a number of teaching fellowships - -, that is to 
say, a senior or a graduate student will be employed as assistant 
in a laboratory or as instructor in the academy, and for such ser- 
vice receive an allowance — eight graduates are employed to teach 
or assist professors in different departments and they take graduate 
courses of study — fellows chosen from the graduates of the uni- 
versity as assistants to the professors the purpose was and is the 
double one of providing assistance at a reasonable cost, and to 



148 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

-increase graduate work, to secure a small amount of assistance for 
a small amount of money — it is deemed essential to the development 
of the graduate school that the number of these fellowships should 
be largely increased — to assist professors — he (the fellow) is ex- 
pected to give instruction in the university for not more than two 
hours per day. 

Types of fellowships. — There has been a gradual differentiation 
of the fellowship. It seems clearly within the truth to say that 
the original idea in such funds was to provide for intelligent leader- 
ship. In colonial days it meant first of all to be a preacher or a 
teacher; at the present time, leadership is specialized and because 
of this fact, encouragement has been extended to varied fields of 
study. Among the institutions considered, five or six distinct 
types have developed in connection with their growth and develop- 
ment. There are teaching fellowships, university fellowships for 
advanced study, industrial fellowships, assistant fellowships, honor- 
ary, and special.* 

The teaching fellowship and the assistant fellowship are similar 
in function, the difference lying in the fact that in addition to 
teaching as assistant fellow renders a variety of service in the de- 
partment with which he is connected. He may or may not teach. In 
one institution the teaching fellow receives from $100 to $350 per 
year and may not even be a graduate student. He is employed as as- 
sistant in a laboratory course or instructor in the academy. He 
carries graduate work in connection with the assistantship, if a 
graduate student. In another institution, eight graduates are em- 
ployed to teach or assist in different departments and receive $300 
a year from the general funds of the university. In other in- 
stitutions, they are assistants to the professors, marking papers, 
acting as department librarians, and doing miscellaneous and 
routine work. In one institution, it was specified that the assistant 
fellows had only half of their time for graduate work, the other 
half being devoted "to assistance in the department of his major 
work, — that is, he teaches eight hours a week and has the remainder 



^Wisconsin has what is called Working Fellowships, $600 for eleven months' 
service. Fellows are appointed by the Civil Service Commission of the State, 
in Transportation, Taxation, Insurance, and Labor. Half of time is to be 
used in graduate study in the University. 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 149 

of his time at his disposal".* 

The oldest type of teaching fellowship was hardly a teaching fel- 
lowship in the sense we understand the term at the present time. 
The purpose here was to give the student Avho expected to teach 
an opportunity to continue his advanced study a little longer. The 
improvement of the student in efficiency to do social service as a 
teacher was the justification and motive for supporting him. The 
difference between this fellowship and the university fellowship 
consists only in the limitation to teaching. Many institutions, par- 
ticularly the private or philanthropic, support this fellowship in 
order to prepare their brighter and more M'orthy students for 
teaching positions in the college or university. This type of fel- 
lowship has lost its identity, practically, by the development of the 
university fellowship. 

The university fellowship is of comparatively recent origin. It 
is founded upon the broad spirit of the university and its purpose 
is liberally interpreted. It is confined to no particular group, but 
aims to promote research in all possible directions. Very fcAV insti- 
tutions had what may be called properly university fellowships 
prior to 1890. Since the opening of the new century the tendency 
toward establishing such funds has become marked, t Prior 
to the establishment of university fellowships, there was a large 
number of miscellaneous fellowships in private institutions. 

The industrial fellowship represents, for the most part, pri- 
vate endeavor. Within the last few years, the establishment of 
such fellowships has been brought to the attention of individuals 
and business concerns. In order that the great institutions of 
learning may seiwe the interests of the people better, philanthropic 
and business concerns have come to co-operate with the schools. 



"Quoted from correspondent. 

tUniversity fellowships have been established in the following institutions 
on the dates named: Princeton, 1873; Johns Hopkins, 1876; Cornell, 1884; 
Wiseonsin, 1888; Clark 1889; Brown, 1892; Columbia, 1892; Illinois, 1892; 
Pennsylvania, 1895; Ohio State, 1897; Nebraska, 1898; Iowa, 1900; North- 
western, 1900; Kansas, 1901; Chicago, 1902; Missouri, 1903; Utah, 1908; 
Washington, 1908; California, 1910; Indiana, 1910; Michigan, 1910; Minne- 
sota, 1910; North Dakota, 1910; Pittsburg, 1911. Several institutions as 
Leland Stanford Junior and South Dakota are agitating the question at the 
present time. 



150 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

Graduate instruction is expensive. To secure direction and able 
students, moneys are granted for fellowship fmids for specific pur- 
poses. During the past four or five years, industrial fellowships 
have been maintained in Cornell University, where graduate students 
have taken up specific, scientific problems of interest to the business 
concerns furnishing the money. According to reports from that in- 
stitution, the sum of $1,647.28, was spent during the year 1909- 
1910 for industrial fellowships, and $6,278.90 in 1910-1911, the 
money coming wholly from business concerns. 

In the University of Kansas, fifteen fellowships in industrial 
chemistry have been established, supported on a private founda- 
tion. In North Dakota, there is one industrial fellowship, sup- 
ported from the general funds of the university. In many of the 
larger institutions, a large number of fellowships established on 
private foundations are essentially industrial fellowships. In some 
institutions research fellowships are likewise industrial. This 
growth in a few institutions indicates a direction for the wise ex- 
penditure of money from philanthropic sources. The services of 
educational institutions are at the disposal of society, and society 
may well extend the serviceableness of the institutions by wisely 
directed philanthropic benefaction. 

The honorary fellowship hardly concerns us here, since it carries 
no stipend, as a rule. The John Harvard fellowship in Harvard 
University, where the distinction is the sole reward, is an illustra- 
tion. Nebraska offers honorary fellovv^ships without stipend; other 
institutions do the same. 

Under special fellowships may be given a long list of miscellan- 
eous fellowships. Practically without exception support comes 
through private benefactions, bequests, or endowment. In many of 
the larger and older institutions these funds were the forerunner of 
the regular university fellowship funds. Similar to industrial 
fellowship funds, they are given with specific direction as to their 
use. Among an exceedingly long list of such fellowships, a few 
examples will suffice to show the nature and function. 

Columbia University has a large number of special fellowships: 
the Adams research fellowship, $1250 ; Tyndall, $648; Drisler, $650; 
Garth, income of $16,250; and ten or more others in addition to 
twelve university fellowships. Cornell University reports show 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 151 

that for the year, 1909-1910, the sum of $11,516.65 was received 
for fellowships from endowment funds set aside for this purpose. 
In 1910-1911, the sum received was $10,950. Harvard University 
has the large Sheldon funds, amounting to over $10,000 in income. 
Johns Hopkins has the "Bruce" fellowship at $400 and tuition 
fees, the "Raynor" at $400 and tuition fees, the "Rogers" at $500 
and tuition fees, these amounts coming from a private endowment 
fund of $10,000. Indiana has two private fellowships, the ' ' Donald- 
son ' ' in zoology at $500, the ' ' Lawrence ' ' in astronomy at $600 and 
traveling expenses and furnished room at the observatory. Kan- 
sas has a fellowship in entomology ; in 1910, supported by private 
donor, in 1911, taken over by the state. New York University has 
the Ottendorfer Memorial Fellowship which carries a stipend of 
$800 with an allowance of $100 additional for books. 

In addition, we may mention the "Robinson" fellowship in 
engineering at Ohio State University valued at $500; the "Harri- 
son" fellowships at $500 each and $100 additional for equipment 
and the ' ' Tyndale ' ' at $500 and tuition at the University of Penn- 
sylvania; the "John Harding", "Jacobus", "Harvard" fellowship 
in chemistry, "Gordon Macdonald" and several others at Prince- 
ton; the "Col. E. A. Wall" fellowship at the University of Utah; 
"Vanderbilt", "Mason" and "Rives" at the University of Vir- 
ginia; and the "Adams" and "Taylor" and "The Albert Mark- 
ham Memorial Graduate Travelling" fellowships at Wisconsin. 
These funds stand as a monument to the interest of well wishing 
supporters of the colleges and universities whose interests settled 
particularly in some special subjects. 

Sources of Support. — There are three main sources of support 
for fellowship funds. The oldest method of providing funds is 
the donation. The special fellowships are the expression of private 
munificence for research and specialized leadership. With the rise 
and development of institutions, the temporary and unstable gift 
or benefaction, given for support of students, yielded to the de- 
velopment of endowment funds, which in most instances character- 
ized the type of support maintaining the special fellowships. This 
is the second means of support. With either of these methods there 
was considerable uncertainty, lack of definite organization and 
oftentimes lack of symmetry in the development of the funds. The 



152 



CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 



FELLOWSHIP FUNDS IN TYPICAL UNIVERSITIES 









Table 10 














SECTION 1 


















North- 


Wis- 






Chicago 


Illinois 


Kansas 


Missouri 


western 


consin 


Yale* 


1900 


23,337 


2,400 










2,000 


1901 


23,040 


2,400 


1.000 




1,200 




2,000 


1902 


24,310 


2,400 


1,000 


2,000 


1,800 


5,200 


3,000 


1903 


25,307 


7,400 


1,600 


2,000 


1,800 


5,200 


2,000 


1904 


24,300 


7,400 


1,935 


2,000 


1,800 


5,200 


2,000 


1905 


23,000 


7,400 


2,365 


2,000 


1,800 


5,200 


2,000 


1906 


25,115 


7,400 


2,365 


2,000 


1,800 


5,600 


2,000 


1907 


23,625 


25,000 


2,365 


2,000 


1,800 


6,000 


2,000 


1908 


21,273 


27,400 


2,365 


2,000 


1,800 


6,400 


2,000 


1909 


22,594- 


27,400 


3,445 


2,000 


1,800 


7,200 


2,000 


1910 


23,600 


27,400 


16,656 


2,000 


3,000 


8,700 


2,000 


1911 


24,760 


27,400 


18,996 


2,500 


3,000 


8,700 


3,000 


♦Approximately 




















SECTION 2 









Cali- 
fornia 



Mich- Minne- North 



Pitts- 



Iowa 



igan 



sota 



Dakota 



Wash- 



burg Utah ington 



1905 




900 














1906 




1,575 














1907 




1,350 












4,950 


1908 




1,125 












6,750 


1909 




1,125 










500 


4,950 


1910 


4,000 


2,250 


3,000 


1,000 


1,300 


2,500 


1,200 


8,100 


1911 


4,000 


1,700 


3,000 


2,500 


1,300 


2,500 


1,200 


5,400 



rise of university fellowships and the appropriation from general 
funds for specific puiposes have resulted in certain uniform and 
scientific standards for the administration of the fellowships. Thus, 
it is clear that a co-operation, similar to the co-operation in general 
school support funds, has manifested itself in the development of 
these funds. Gifts, benefactions, endowments, appropriations from 
the general funds and legislative appropriation constitute the main 
source of support. 

Growth of the Funds. — A glance at Table 10 will show the growth 
of fellowship funds in a few typical institutions. It would be in- 
acurate to draw any conclusion on the basis of an absolute com- 
parison of figures, since such conclusions Avould need to be modified 
by supplementary facts, two of which being the type of fellowship 
given and the source of the funds. For example, the University of 
the State of Washington has ' ' assistant ' ' fellowships. The gradu- 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 153 

ate student teaches half of his time and is paid from the regular 
faculty funds. This feature of the development of the funds in 
Washington is further shown in the lack of uniformity in the 
amount of annual appropriation.* 

It would be unfair to think that the funds at Washington ap- 
proximated the funds at Wisconsin in 1910,+ since Wisconsin dur- 
ing that year granted sixteen, university fellowships at $400 each 
in Letters and Sciences, two at $400 in the College of Engineering, 
two at $400 in College of Agriculture, six at $250 in Training of 
Teachers, where the purpose was primarily the promotion of higher 
scholarship and research, while at Washington the $8,100 was spent 
on graduate students for assistance to the extent of eight hours 
a week of teaching. It is due to the University of Washington to 
say that the tendency in that institution is toward the use of fewer 
graduate assistants in responsible teaching positions. This is in- 
dicated in the relatively smaller amount used for this purpose in 
1911, unless this amount merely happens to be smaller for this 
period. 

A further obsen^ation of this table, particularly the second part, 
shows the striking development of the funds during the past few 
years. There is manifest a uniform tendency toward the use of the 
fellowship and particularly for purposes of research and graduate 
study. A large number of institutions are waiting for adequate 
funds with which to establish fellowships, the principle already 
being fully appreciated. The figures for the last few years sug- 
gest nothing striking except the marked development at Wisconsin. 

SUMMARY 
The notion of fellowship funds is an old one. It originated with 
the obligation of local communities to assist worthy young people 
in their aspirations for social leadership. It has evolved with the 
means of educational support in general. At first, the plan was to 
assist the student, on the one hand, and the institution, on the other, 
the former by giving the student the opportunity to earn his living, 



*See Table 10, p. 152. 

tWisconsin funds have jumped from $8,700 in 1911 to $18,350 for 1915, hy 
far the most striking increase among the universities studied. 



154 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

the latter by making available for the institution cheap assistance. 
Since the type of assistance demanded was largely of the teaching 
type, the teaching fellowship was popular. 

"With the fuller appreciation of the value of graduate study and 
research and the inadequacy of teaching or assistant fellowships 
to meet the need, the rise of more liberal fellowships was inevitable, 
whereby promising young people might give all their time to study 
and research. The rise of the university fellowship carrying fairly 
adequate stipends has resulted, so that nearly every institution has 
considered the question and favors the development of the funds. 

As in the beginning of all educational movements in this country 
the fellowship originally was supported by benefaction, then by en- 
dowment funds. The development of college and university fellow- 
ships involved the use of funds belonging to the university for this 
purpose. Thus, support was met by annual appropriations from the 
funds of the institutions. In a few instances, for example, Kansas, 
appropriation is made by the state for the specific purpose. 

The tendency expressed in the replies given to the questionnaire 
is toward the development of the funds. It is observed by some that 
the funds must be increased. There is practically a universal ten- 
dency to establish and enlarge the funds though there are a few of 
the older, conservative institutions which do not look with favor 
on any considerable expenditure of general income for this purpose. 
Among the state universities the fellowship is popular, even to the 
extent of calling out specific state legislation for the fund. A fur- 
ther striking tendency it to make the position of fellow one of 
responsibility for a definite piece of research, to remove from him 
all need for worry concerning support, and to give him direct in- 
struction in the prosecution of his problem. Some say that he is 
to be relieved of all tasks such as marking papers, or doing routine, 
and even prodded to his task. Another tendency, how universal is 
hard to tell, seems to be to give fellowships to students who are can- 
didates for advanced degrees. 

From several quarters there has arisen an opposing tendency, 
on the grounds that the moneys thus spent for a few should be 
given for the assistance of the many. The justification for the 
establishment of these funds rests essentially on the purpose of 
their establishment. It would seem that the opposition is of the 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 155 

same type that opposed public education among the colonies, when 
education was considered a matter of domestic concern, or that 
opposed public education supported by taxation, when schools were 
supported largely by private benefactions, or that opposed public 
supported secondary education, when only a small per cent Avere 
to have the advantages, or that opposed university education, when 
it was an individual benefit. As a matter of fact, the state is justi- 
fied on the grounds that a leadership of this higher order is demand- 
ed to meet the problems of the day. The notion of social service 
underlies the whole development of the funds and the justification 
for the expenditure must rest eventually in the efficiency of the ad- 
ministration of the funds so that the results which are secured ac- 
cord with the social purposes upon which the funds have always 
stood. 



CONCLUDING 
STATEMENT 



' ' The expenditure for the public schools within the year reached 
the grand total of $482,886,793, which was 8 per cent more than 
for the year before. The per capita expenditure for the total 
population was $5.07; for the total school population, $9.19; for 
the total enrollment, $25.56; and for the total average attendance 
for the average school year of 158 days, $36.30." — Philander 
Priestley Claxton. Extract from the Introduction to the Report 
of the United States Commissioner of Education, 1913. 



SUMMARY SUGGESTIONS 

The principles involved in this study have been emphasized 
sufficiently throughout the chapters to make it unnecessary to pre- 
sent any elaborate summary. That schools have been supported 
by co-operative methods has needed, perhaps, no proof, since to 
any observer the truth of this statement is obvious. The burden, 
rather, has been to analyze various situations to see how the various 
funds have co-operated to promote system and efficiency in these 
types. It has been shown that the spontaneity and the co-operation 
expressed in the struggles of the nation in its growth and de- 
velopment have been essential, determining factors in the evolution 
of means and methods of support. 

This struggle for freedom and education began in the colonies 
where all joined to promote the interests of all. Gift, benefaction, 
grants of lands, appropriations, rates and tuition, bequest, taxation, 
and even the lottery, were expressions of voluntary efforts in behalf 
of education. It has been our purpose to emphasize and show 
this co-operation in the first section of the study. The rapid de- 
velopment of schools in the colonial period rested primarily upon 
the active interests of the pioneers who gave liberally for the ''en- 
couragement" of education because the school was essential to the 
preservation and promotion of their liberties. 

Though grants of land had been made in the colonies, yet the 
Government at the close of the Avar for independence showed, in 
the land grant acts, her confidence in education as a means of de- 
veloping the resources of the country. In the attempts to develop 
the country in order to pay the heavy national debt, and also to es- 
tablish the nation firmly, the Government recognized the fact that 
education was not only the handmaiden of religion, but of all in- 
ternal progress in a democracy. This is shown in the attitude of 
the Government. The grants of land and the appropriations of 
moneys became an effective means of establishing school systems, 
particularly by means of permanent school funds of various kinds. 
The second section shows, therefore, in detail how the Govern- 
ment has co-operated with other agencies in promoting education. 

As pointed out, the co-operation of the Government in promot- 



160 CO-OPERATIVE METHODS 

ing schools gave an impetus to the states. This came about partly 
through contact of pioneers with colonial methods and partly 
through the establishment of school funds. The growth of the 
country, the rise of voluntary systems in. new states, the inadequacy 
of the administration of the permanent funds, with other influences, 
called out taxation as a more substantial means of support. Though 
taxation seems clearly to us to be the backbone of school support, 
the study of the rise of school systems shows how gradual was its 
growth in the sentiment of the people and how unpopular a scheme 
it was amidst the medley of methods of voluntary systems. But 
since other systems of support were rapidly becoming inadequate, 
the taxation of wealth came to be the only method of correlating 
and co-ordinating educational agencies about the central purpose 
of democracy. The struggle presented in. the third section was one, 
therefore, for a democracy of a higher order. This gave rise to a 
reconstruction of old colonial methods and an evaluation of them 
in the light of progressive change. 

Section four of the study shows how school funds have been made 
up for definite periods of years, primarily to show the relation of 
these co-operating agencies of support. This principle is shown for 
common schools, secondary schools, type city systems, normal 
schools, colleges, universities and technological schools, colleges of 
agriculture and mechanic arts, and other types. The charts and 
tables bring out these points clearly. 

The concluding discussion emphasizes some significant develop- 
ments of recent years in supporting education. For the common 
school system, it is shown that the extension of the scope and func- 
tion of the high school and the establishment and maintenance of 
special schools have demanded additional levies, special levies, and 
some dependence, greater or less, upon voluntary efforts. The 
recent tendencies in providing for the support of training schools 
for teachers for the various types of schools are typified in city 
and county training. A discussion of fellowship funds has been 
introduced to show how funds are co-operative to encourage men 
of ability and purpose to continue their study in preparation of the 
highest type of leadership. It is to show further, though incident- 
ally, how the spirit of the early colonies has been kept alive in the 
midst of the complex life of the present day. For each peck of 



OF SCHOOL SUPPORT 161 

wheat given for poor, but worthy, students in, Harvard College, 
thousands of dollars are given to students of modem times, and to 
the same end fundamentally. 

In general, it seems that progress in a democracy is conditioned 
primarily upon the opportunity given for the expression of in- 
dividual initiative, whether in benefaction, endowment, subscrip- 
tion, bequest, or taxation. The purpose which underlies the method 
is allied with the spirit of freedom and democracy, and the study 
shows that the development of taxation as the main support in no 
way prevents the fullest expression of individual interest and 
initiative. It is seen that the modem methods of support involve 
the principles of colonial and other methods, though raised to a 
higher power. 



EEFERENCES 
In pursuing this investigation, the writer has used a long list of references. 

These have been liberally suggested in the footnotes throughout the study. 

Some of the general sources used are repeated here for convenience. 

American Journal of Education, particularly Vols. 2, 24, and 28. 

Bourne, E. G., The history of the surplus revenue fund. 

Brown, E. E., The making of our middle schools. 

Buffum, H. E., Federal and state aid to education in Iowa. 

Catalogues and annual reports of colleges. 

Clews, Elsie W., Educational legislation and administration ; colonial govern- 
ments. 

Congressional acts. 

Congressional reports. 

Cubberley, E P., School funds and their apportionment. 

Donaldson, Thomas, The public domain. 

Jackson, G. L., The development of school support in colonial Massachusetts. 

Knight, G. W., History and management landgrants, — In American historical 
association papers. Vol. I. 

Miscellaneous magazine articles. 

Personal letters. 

Proceedings, National Educational Association. 

Eeplies to questionnaires: (1) an inquiry concerning school support; (2) 
an inquiry concerning the development of fellowship funds. 

Eeports from city superintendents of schools and clerks of city school boards. 

Reports from the general land office. 

Reports from the office of experiment stations. 

Reports from the superintendents of public instruction and other state officers. 

School laws of the various states. 

Special reports from the Government. 

Special reports from state officers. 

Swift, F, H., Public permanent common school funds in the United States, 
1795-1905. 

United States Bureau of Education, circulars of information, especially, No. 
2, 1789; No. 1, 1887; Nos. 4 and 7, 1888; No. 2, 1889; No. 1, 1890; Nos. 
4 and 6, 1891; Nos. 2, 3, and 6, 1893; Nos. 1, 2, and 6, 1894; No. 2, 
1899; No. 3, 1903. 

United States Bureau of Education, reports of the Commissioners of educa- 
tion, particularly for the years, 1889 to 1910. 

United States statutes at large. 



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